


Conflicts of Interest

by librariankiss



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aldrich Killian having a doctorate is very important to me, Alternate Universe - Lawyers, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Family Drama, Loki Needs a Hug, M/M, Tony Has Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2018-05-26 12:11:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 110,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6238222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librariankiss/pseuds/librariankiss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony is being sued by Aldrich Killian and his public image has taken a beating. At the advice of lawyer Natasha Romanoff, Stark Industries hires image consultant Loki Laufeyson to teach Tony to behave himself. But Tony finds that what he really wants to learn is what's tormenting Loki, and if he can help him deal with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Privilege and Malice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I started this fic a long time ago with little idea where it was going. So thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this and I hope you enjoy!

There were plenty of things that had been said to Tony hundreds of times in his life. He wasn’t as clever as he thought he was. God, he was such a jerk. He needed to get the hell over himself. What the actual hell’s going on with that hair?

There were a crapload of things said to Tony over and over again and, fuck, it was difficult to come up with an original quip every single time. In time his friends came to notice that he was recycling. In fact, that was one of the reasons that he was grateful for his new buddy Bruce, who had yet to hear all the old material.

Thing was, there were a number of things to which Tony’s response was completely automatic. For example, when Pepper called up to ask if he had remembered to eat (“Ma’am, yes, ma’am”) or when he saw someone almost trip over but recover before they went down (“He didn’t fall? Inconceivable” followed by a tired, equally automatic “You keep using that word; I don’t think it means what you think it means” from Rhodey if he was nearby, which as of late he hadn’t been).

Tony heard a perfect example of a something that triggered automatic responses on Monday morning when he happened to be feeling just a bit shitty from whatever party he had been at the night before.

Pepper called Tony pretty early, waking him up. It seemed that he had lost consciousness a few feet from the bed. Tony answered with a grunt. Pepper would be able to interpret it as hello.

“Oh good, you’re still alive. Did you have fun last night?”

Tony sensed something dangerous in her voice. Pepper had been one wrong move from shooting him ever since … ever since the, ah, the Aldrich Killian incident. Even so, Tony answered just as he always did. The Killian incident had happened. He was fucked anyway.

“Uh, I think so. Pretty sure Bruce wanted to kill this one guy, though. I mean he was seriously pissed off.”

“Really? That doesn’t sound like him.”

“You’ve never seen him angry,” said Tony. “Fuck, it’s actually pretty scary. And this one guy, he was a real dick. He said that Bruce was a cock, or Canadian, or something.”

“Okay, well…” Pepper sighed. “That’s not the point. You said that you’d be in today. We have to talk about the situation with Aldrich Killian.”

Tony sat bolt upright, abruptly rupturing his brain.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Actually, the fact of the matter was that Tony had tried to put Killian out of his mind. The situation that had started up with him had already been a thorn in his side for too fucking long. Before this thing exploded Tony hadn’t actually seen the guy for years, then suddenly every other name that he heard was Aldrich Killian and he was running into news about him every other post online.

Tony ran into Killian at the same convention where he met Bruce. And sure, the convention meant that he had Bruce to hang out with. But he also had Killian’s new crusade to deal with, and fuck that. Really, given what he’d started up? Fuck Killian altogether. Fuck his cream suits and fuck his I’m-hotter-than-I-used-to-be smile.

Ah, shit. Tony collected himself, and said, “Uh, Killian. No, I didn’t forget.”

“Thank goodness,” said Pepper curtly. “Well then, get yourself to my office before lunchtime or I’ll have words. Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” said Tony, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Okay. I’ll see you there,” said Pepper. A pregnant pause. “Hey, do you want me to call Rhodey about all this?”

Rhodey? Fuck. Tony had fucked up with Killian at that convention, but that was hardly the first time he’d fucked up, was it? Killian wasn’t going away, though, whereas Rhodey was out of the picture and staying that way.

“Rhodey? No, no it’s okay. Why bother him with all this?” Tony said.

Pepper sighed again. “Tony, you’re being sued. Aldrich Killian is suing you for what you said at the convention.”

Tony swallowed. “Yeah, which, doesn’t actually have a thing with to do with this.”

Pepper sighed. “If you say so. Just … You know what? Forget it. I have to worry about a lawsuit right now. I don’t want to be fixing your personal life too.”

Tony only coughed in response. His throat hurt.

“Mm.” There was clearly so much that Pepper wanted to say, but she went with, “Right, well, just get yourself decent and meet me in my office. I’m waiting for you.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Tony.

Pepper hung up then, and Tony threw his phone onto the bed and pushed himself up off the floor. The clock told him that he had about ninety minutes if he wanted to get to Pepper’s office before what she called lunchtime. He could make that, easy. And good thing, too, because he probably stunk to high heaven and he had no clue what his dry cleaning situation was at that moment.

Tony ran his hands over his face and was off to the bathroom. Later, just as he was about ready to leave, he picked up his phone to see one alert among many that caught his interest, a text that skipped the small talk and gone straight for what was relevant.

  
[From: Bruce  
10:50

 _By itself, I think this story would go away pretty quickly, but if I’m honest I don’t think that Killian is going to let it. And I know you don’t believe that Killianites are a thing, but I’ve seen this posted eight times to #StarkSmackdown so please take a look._ ]  


Below that was a link to a YouTube video and  _shit_. Tony tapped the link and the video opened up. He was treated to a few minutes of footage that someone must have recorded on their cell the night of the convention. It was a video (with the phone held upright, Tony’s least favorite thing) of Tony and that drunken spew at Aldrich after he had snapped, an antsy looking Bruce standing just behind him.

Yeah, Tony remembered all that shit, those people he had related Killian too and all the shit he said Killian had done.

God, he was already enjoying this day. And even he had to admit that what he’d said at the convention was ugly. That didn’t mean that Killian wasn’t being pissy as all hell for actually  _suing_ him over it, but…

x-x-x

“Tony, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.”

Tony was sitting with his legs crossed on Pepper’s desk, messing with a Rubik’s Cube that had been sitting there for whatever reason. Pepper was on the couch on the other side of the room, looking like she could well smack him with a crowbar with zero regrets.

“Hey, that’s not fair, I am so taking this seriously.” He frowned. “You can’t really believe this is a big deal, though, right? What’s Killian gonna get done, really?” And it was probably not a positive thing to go admitting, but, “It’s not like I haven’t been sued for dumb shit before.”

Pepper sighed. “Yes, Tony, I’m aware of that, and I thought you were aware how much of a pain it is. I don’t want to have to deal with it again. Any time you get us in trouble like this it’s … it’s just difficult, okay? Don’t you think that I have enough to do already?”

“Uh, maybe you should try listening to her,” came a quiet voice from the doorway. “She did say you’d promised not to do this again. How many times can one drunken billionaire get sued for mouthing off?”

“Oh hey, Banner joined the party!” exclaimed Tony, raising his hands like he was presenting a magic trick.

Pepper nodded. “I asked him to come here, okay Tony? Bruce here seems to be pretty good at feeling exactly how I do about your nonsense.”

“Well yeah, sure, but I think you two are ganging up on me,” Tony muttered. He dropped the Rubik’s Cube to the desk, pouting like a child as he did so.

Pepper sighed again. “Tony, I know from experience – sadly – that defamation is a hard case to prove, but we also know that Aldrich really is not one of your fans.”

“I think Pepper’s right,” said Bruce. “I’m no expert, and I can’t say that I know Aldrich Killian, but from what Pepper told me he really, really doesn’t seem to like you. Don’t think this is just going away. He’s pissed.”

Tony frowned. “Is he? Really? All I said was—”

“Yes, I know what you said. And frankly, if you really believe that then I’m worried about you,” said Pepper.

“Either way, hashtag Stark Smackdown is trending,” said Bruce.

“Oh,” said Tony. “Cool.”

“No, Tony,” said Pepper. “Not cool.”

“I could tell how angry he was when you were saying it all. I thought he was going to hit you,” said Bruce. Then, barely audible, he added, “If you had said that to me _I_ would’ve hit you.”

“Right. He would’ve punched me and then you’d have punched him before you could stop yourself, and then you’d have spent hours feeling shitty because you let yourself get violent,” Tony snapped, surprising even himself with how bitter he sounded. “My heart bleeds, Banner.”

“I’m sure,” said Bruce flatly.

Tony nearly hit himself on Bruce’s behalf. “Shit, I’m sorry. Hangover.”

“Mm, it always is,” said Pepper. “Okay, whatever the case, our lawyers wanted nothing more to do with us, don’t know if you noticed, so I’ve had to contact some new ones. There are still some people who’ll put up with you for the sake of your money.”

“God bless America,” said Tony with an empty grin.

Pepper shook her head and moved right along. “Have you heard of Barton Romanoff?”

Tony shrugged. “Can’t say that I have.”

“Of course you haven’t. But I’ve worked with Miss Romanoff – Natasha – before and I think she’ll be able to help us. And  _you_ are meeting her later today. She’s willing to put up with you.”

“Because I’m filthy stinking rich?” Tony asked, and he couldn’t help but smirk.

“Because you’re filthy stinking rich,” Pepper confirmed flatly, narrowing her eyes. “As I said, I arranged for you to meet with Natasha later, but Bruce is going to take you somewhere to eat first. I assume that you haven’t eaten?”

“Well, I…” Tony coughed. “Maybe I haven’t eaten enough.”

“Well okay then, so we have a plan.” Pepper smiled. “Behave yourself.”

“You think I won’t behave myself?”

“I think I don’t want Natasha firing you after one meeting.”

Tony frowned. “She can do that?”

Bruce chuckled in an I-am-so-sick-of-your-bullshit way (or was Tony imagining that?) and gestured out the door. “Just come with me, will you?”

Tony unhooked his legs from under himself and hopped off the desk. And smirking, he said, “I love it when you take charge like that, you man you.”

Bruce shrugged. “Alright, if you say so.”

With that, he waved to Pepper and left the room. Tony copied him, falling into step beside him as they walked down the hall.

“Aldrich Killian is actually suing you,” Bruce said.

“Yeah.” Tony cracked his knuckles. He surprised himself by asking, “You think I should be worried about it?”

Bruce shrugged, something of a frown on his face. “You seemed pretty calm before.”

“Well, yeah, but that means I’ve got kind of a ‘what could possibly go wrong?’ mentality.”

Bruce nodded. “Ah, then you’ve doomed us all.”

“Yeah,” said Tony with a laugh. “I have a habit of doing that."

x-x-x

The Barton Romanoff offices took up three stories of an office building that had real estate significance … for some reason. This Tony knew because Pepper met Tony and Bruce in the lobby that afternoon and told them so … for some reason.

“So, we’re expected up there soon,” she said. “I’m sure Natasha can hardly wait.”

“Ha! Sarcasm,” said Tony.

“You know, Tony, in your own way you’re lucky,” said Bruce, seemingly distracted by something. “Every time you get in trouble you always get name partners working on your case.”

Tony nodded. “You see, Bruce, that’s because—”

“You’re filthy stinking rich, I know,” said Bruce. He checked his phone. “Okay, I have somewhere to be, believe it or not. Good luck, Tony. Don’t be a dumbass and get kicked out, yeah?”

Tony blinked and held out his arms. “You wound me, Banner. I’m wounded. Look here, I have wounds.”

Pepper shook her head at him, then smiled at Bruce and said, “Thank you, by the way.”

“Yeah of course. Anytime.” He considered. “Actually no, please forget I said that.”

Pepper chuckled and waved as Bruce turned to leave, Tony sticking his tongue out and making Bruce laugh. Tony then crossed his arms and, once Bruce was out of earshot, turned to Pepper and asked her an oh so important question.

“My ass isn’t dumb, right?”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Upstairs.”

Tony relented and followed Pepper to the elevator, listening as they walked to some grumblings about having to deal with this, because she already had enough work to do without having to deal with Tony being a moron—or, dumb shit. Something was lost in translation.

The worst part was that Tony kind of felt like she had a point, that saying all that was fair enough. But, he also felt shitty, shitty that she had to say it at all, and by the time Pepper was pressing the button for the twenty-seventh floor he was about ready for a change of subject.

Pepper stopped talking altogether, and no change of subject came. So, Tony got to thinking.

At that convention, Tony had gotten a bit too drunk, yes, and said some things that weren’t so friendly. Killian seemed pretty certain in the knowledge that Tony wasn’t much else besides a colossal asshole. Honestly, if he thought that then maybe he should know enough to realize it was pointless to make a big deal out of this, right?

Screwed, but for the grace of wishful thinking.

“Killian’s a drama queen,” said Tony as the elevator stopped. He hadn’t really meant to either.

“And he wouldn’t need to be if you weren’t,” said Pepper.

Without adding to that she stepped out of the elevator. Her exasperated expression became a friendly smile as she spoke to the receptionist. She and Tony were directed to the couches at the edge of the room.

As they waited, Pepper completely engrossed with something on her phone, Tony got a look at the surroundings. These offices, well, they were one of  _those_ types of offices, pretty much Stark Industries style with a lot of glass everywhere and weird (probably leased) art that Tony didn’t understand. Tony wasn’t sure how to feel about the environment. A building full of glass walls meant always being able to see all that went on around you. Fun.

Through one of the glass walls, Tony could see two people, man and woman, having a discussion that looked subdued, and forcefully as if they were both about three words away from punching through some of the glass. Shortly, the woman (who had red hair and a look that could definitely kill) turned and caught Tony’s eye.

Tony hastily looked away after that. He kept his gaze firmly on the other side of the reception area, where a couple of maintenance looking guys were hanging up a sign with the name of the firm written upon it. Lying on the counter below was another sign Tony had only just noticed which read “Barton, Romanoff & Fury.”

A couple minutes later the man and woman left the conference room and walked into reception. The receptionist smiled.

“Oh, Mr. Barton!” he said warmly. “Uh, your wife called? She couldn’t get you on your cell. Something about Lila and one of her friends?”

“Oh, okay. Thanks,” said a weary-looking Barton who seemed to know the backstory to that one.

“It’ll be fine, Clint,” said the woman. She had seemed sort of annoyed in the conference room, but definitely not so now.

That was all Tony got of this exchange because yay, the red-haired woman was Natasha Romanoff so Tony finally got to have his meeting! At least, after Pepper exchanged a friendly hello and instructed Tony yet again to behave himself.

Tony was soon sitting on the couch in Natasha Romanoff’s office, Pepper waiting outside. He had to say that he thought the office looked nice. Corner office, pricey furniture, more window than wall. The leather couch wasn’t particularly accommodating, however. It sort of felt like it was trying to fight Tony off, push him to the ground.

The mighty Miss Romanoff was sitting on an armchair that stood at an angle to the couch. She had a slim laptop open on the coffee table in front of her. She was wearing this black dress that looked like it could well have cost more than one of Tony’s suits did, and when Bruce had heard how much Tony had paid for this one suit he was wearing a little more than a week back he had called Tony an idiot, so.

The lawyer leaned back in her chair and folded her arms as she surveyed Tony. “So, Mr. Stark,” she said. “I’m your lawyer now.”

“Yeah, I heard.” Tony smiled, shrugged. “Call me Tony.”

“Thank you, I will.” She was smiling too, but there was something a little mysterious about it that unsettled Tony, just a little. “And _you_ can call me Miss Romanoff.”

Tony got the impression (and prayed he was right) that with that she wasn’t entirely serious. He shot her a salute. “Aye, aye ma’am.”

“So…” Romanoff, as Tony’s brain defaulted to, sat up a little straighter. “Aldrich Killian is suing you for defamation.”

Tony shrugged. “Yeah, sort of. It’s dumb really. I just said that—”

“Yes, I know,” Romanoff said. “Hey, I’m sure if anyone you compared him to cared they’d be flattered You know I’ve seen your legal history, Tony. You’ve been sued what I would call... a lot.”

“Gee, have I? But hey, not always for defamation.”

“My partner didn’t think that I should take your case. He thinks you’re more trouble than you’re worth.”

“Aw, really? Does he know that I’m worth a shit ton?”

“He does. We all do. Tony, no one who brings a law firm as much money as you do should get fired as a client so often.”

Tony shrugged listlessly. “So, why’d you take my case?”

“Because you’re still worth a lot of money,” Romanoff explained. “And because I like Pepper, and I don’t think she should have sole responsibility for your bullshit.”

Tony opened his mouth to say something, but Romanoff cut him off straight away.

“I know that you think you’re funny, but I don’t want that from you, okay? It’s not exactly what I want from a client being sued for making defamatory statements.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll try to restrain my wit,” Tony said. He waggled his eyebrows at her. “But it’s not gonna be easy.”

“Well, thanks for the effort.”

“You got it.” Tony shifted, crossing his legs up on the world famous vibranium couch. “So,” he said, “what lawyering do I mean you’ve gotta be doing?”

Romanoff sighed. “Okay.” She looked thoughtful for a few seconds before leaning back in her chair and saying, “You’ve had … issues, I think I’ll say as your lawyer, with things in this area before, I know. You’re aware that it isn’t easy to win on defamation.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Well Killian might not actually have such a hard time here,” Romanoff said. “What you said was – well, you know what you said – and I’m afraid that it’s not going to take complete character assassination to convince a judge to rule in Killian’s favor if it goes that far.”

It seemed like she was building to something with this, so Tony went with a response of, “Okay…”

“Well, if I’m honest I’m not sure that it matters. If we handle this right we can settle this. But...”

Tony grinned. “Come on, Miss Romanoff. You can say. You don’t really want to spare my feelings, do you?”

She smiled. “You’re right. I don’t. And I don’t think that you’re going to take this as seriously as you should, okay? And that’s really a problem. Killian could make things very difficult for you.”

Tony widened his eyes. “Well golly gosh, why didn’t you say so sooner?”

“I’m serious, Stark.” Ooh, and she was too. Tony didn’t think that he’d ever seen a sterner expression. He was almost scared. “I’m your lawyer now, and I’m stuck defending your best interests no matter how much of an asshole you are, okay?”

“Yeah.” Tony sat up straight, raising his hands in apology. “Sure. So, what?”

“ _So,_ we need to deal with this without you making it any worse. And the reason my partner wasn’t particularly happy with me taking this case is that we’re not sure you can do that.”

“Aw, why not?”

Romanoff glared at him. “Tony. Please.”

“Sorry,” said Tony quietly. “What do you need?”

“From you? Obedience, sorry. We’re going to try and get through this without you pissing away whatever good reputation you have. I’ll be talking to Killian’s lawyers first chance I get, whoever he’s hired, and I’m going to represent you zealously and sing your praises. But I don’t like you very much right now. If I didn’t like Pepper then I’d be happy to help Killian sue you myself. Understood?”

“Understood, yeah,” said Tony. “You know what? You’re terrifying. I like that.”

“Thank you,” said Romanoff pleasantly. “So, I’m going to find out who Killian’s lawyers are and set things in motion for you. You’re going to go with Pepper and wait for me to call you. When I do, you’re going to do whatever I tell you to without question. Is that clear?”

“Aye aye, Miss Romanoff,” said Tony with a salute.

“Oh, if I only I believed that,” Romanoff lamented. “Come on, let’s get you back to Pepper.”

She stood up and crossed the room quickly, and was at the door before Tony’s thoughts had caught up to the point of following her. She was out of the room by the time Tony untangled his legs to scramble after her.

Out in the foyer outside Romanoff and Barton’s offices, Pepper was looking at her cell with a dark expression and typing away. Tony noticed that Barton was not in his office, but just outside it and talking to the man who was probably his assistant or whatever. He gave Romanoff a look of sympathy when he saw her, something which wholly offended Tony.

Pepper, on the other hand, smiled at Romanoff and Tony. “Hey, that didn’t take long,” she said. “How did it go?”

“Romanoff is scary,” Tony informed her.

Romanoff nodded. “I am.”

“Yes, that’s why I hired her,” said Pepper. She then asked of Romanoff, “Did he behave himself?”

Romanoff shrugged. “Well enough. I explained some things to Tony here, and I think he understands that I won’t be happy if he makes this any worse than it already is.”

“Good,” said Pepper with a smile, adjusting her bag where it hung from her shoulder. “So we’re okay?”

“Probably not, but we’ll do what we can,” Romanoff said. “Right, Tony?”

Tony nodded. “Yup. Scout’s honor.”

“I’ll get straight on then,” said Romanoff. “Tony knows what to do when I call him.”

“I’m supposed to do whatever she says without question,” Tony explained.

Pepper chuckled. “Okay. I’ll make sure that he does.”

“Thank you.” Romanoff turned to Tony with a smile. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Oh, I do hope so.”

She shook her head. “Screw us over and I’ll kill you myself. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good.”

“Thank you, Natasha,” said Pepper.

Romanoff nodded and returned to the office.

“Well, at least you promised to behave yourself,” said Pepper. “Are you going to?”

“Yeah, course I am.”

Pepper sighed. She did not look happy. “I’m really not impressed with you right now, Tony. Natasha’s really helping you out there. I hope you know that.”

Tony nodded, hoping to the damn stars above that he was sincere here. He couldn’t fucking tell.

“Okay. Thank you,” Pepper said. Then suddenly, she smiled. “So, according to Natasha, you did well enough in there.”

“I did, yeah.”

“So you didn’t spend the whole time ogling her?”

Tony folded his arm across his chest. “I did not, I’ll have you know. You remember that she scared the crap out of me?”

Pepper laughed. “Good for her. So no ogling.”

“No ogling,” Tony promised. He flicked his eyes across the room, then back to Pepper. “’Cept I might have ogled Barton over there.”

Barton turned around to look at him. “I sure hope you make us some money, Mr. Stark because I’m not sure you’re a great buddy to have around.”

“Ah, he does his best,” said Pepper, with a hint of bitterness that perhaps only Tony would recognize. Then she – “Hey!” – ruffled Tony’s hair.

Barton shrugged. “Afternoon, Miss Potts. Mr. Stark.”

And with that, he said goodbye to his maybe assistant and went back inside his office. Pepper gestured for Tony to follow her and led him down the hallways that led to reception and the elevator down.

As they walked, Tony pulled out his cell phone. He was prepared to go with his first reaction and text Rhodey. Except, shit, no. There was no way that Rhodey was going to respond right now. Fuck, and Tony had known that this morning when he spoke to Pepper. Rhodey was pissed.

  
[To: Bruce  
15:16

Just _finished talking to my lawyer. S’all good. She says she’s gonna kill me if I fuck up, so you don’t have to worry about me._ ]

[From: Bruce  
15:17

She _sounds like a smart woman. I like her already. :-)_ ] 

[To: Bruce  
15:17

You’re _so cute with your emoticons, my darling_. ]  


“Hey, hold on a second!”

Tony looked up at the sound of Romanoff’s voice. She was hurrying to catch up with them.

“Sorry, I had a thought,” said Romanoff as she reached them. She was holding what looked like a business card in her hand. “I’m not sure why I didn’t say before. It should have come to me. I’m not sure if you’ll want to do this, but I think it could help.”

“Then please, do tell,” said Pepper. Tony decided to stay quiet for this one. Grownups at work and all.

“The second I got online I saw a post about this whole thing,” Romanoff began. “It’s funny how you can be called the merchant of death but everyone is spurred to hate you because you say that someone—anyway, I thought you might want to look into something like this.” She handed Pepper the business card. Pepper read it, frowning.

“His name’s Loki Laufeyson,” Natasha said. “He does image consulting, crisis managing, that sort of thing. He runs his business out of the Asgard Group right now. Do you know it?”

“The company that Odin Borson used to run? Yeah,” said Pepper.

“Well, Loki’s a friend of mine. Sort of. I mean Clint doesn’t like him, a lot of people don’t like him, but I know him from school. It’s in his job title, minimizing crisis and improving public image and everything.” She looked to Tony, then back to Pepper. “You might want to think about it.”

Pepper looked at Tony too. “I might want to, yes.”

Romanoff nodded. “If you do want someone in that field, I have to admit that I’d go with Loki. He’s good at what he does. Like I said, Clint and plenty others don’t like him, but when it comes to his work that’s fine. He’s got the qualities you need, and I know him well enough to know that he won’t take Tony’s shit.”

Tony finally interjected here, simply muttering, “Rude.”

Pepper tutted at him, then said to Romanoff, “Thank you, Natasha. I’ll think about calling him.”

“Just meet with him once. I think you’ll want to hire him. To be honest, I’d be relieved if you did. Stark is a big name and I don’t want any damage hitting my firm in the future because of something he says or does.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll call him,” said Pepper. “Thanks again.”

“Of course,” said Romanoff. “You’re paying me a lot of money. And, I’ll call Loki myself to make sure he’ll see you. He can be a little … Loki.”

Pepper frowned, and Tony knew how she felt. But, Romanoff waved and walked away before they could ask for clarification. Pepper summoned the elevator again and dragged Tony inside by the cuff of his jacket when it arrived.

“Hey, Pep?” said Tony. “Do you really think that I need a … what’s this guy again?”

Pepper looked at his card. “An image consultant and crisis manager. And oh look, he consults on political campaigns.” She trailed off then, looking thoughtful as the elevator reached the lobby.

Without many clues as to what to do otherwise, Tony called Bruce, sure that he would pick up. Sure enough, Bruce did, and Tony put him on speaker. There was no one in the lobby to bother anyway.

“Hey Bruce,” Tony said. “My lawyer gave us a card for some guy who’s a…” He looked in Pepper’s direction.

Pepper sighed. “Image consultant and crisis manager.”

“Right. That. Apparently, they exist. Do you think that I need one?”

“Do I think that you need one _?_ ” Bruce laughed, though with his usual hint of nerves. “People really think you’re an ass right now, Tony. In fact, someone autotuned the original video. It’s actually pretty catchy.”

“Okay, okay,” said Tony, eager to stop him there. “Thanks, Bruce.”

“Yes. Thank you, Bruce,” said Pepper cheerily.

“It’s a good thing that you’ve got Pepper and your lawyer, Tony,” said Bruce. “I dread to think where you’d be without them.”

“Thank you, Bruce,” said Pepper again.

“Yup. Thanks, Brucie,” said Tony. The repetition was driving him mad.

“Okay, I know that you’re pouting right now, and I think you should stop,” Bruce said. “See you later, okay?”

“Sure thing, Brucie,” said Tony.

“Oh, Bruce,” said Pepper suddenly, as if a thought had struck her. “Remember what we talked about, okay?”

“I, uh…” Bruce took a moment. “Yeah, of course.”

“Thank you, really,” said Pepper.

“See you later, Tony,” said Bruce before hanging up.

“Uh, bye,” said Tony to the dropped call. He shrugged and pocketed his phone. “What was that about?”

“Oh, nothing you need to worry about yet,” Pepper said, which, ominous much? “You know, I like him. I’m glad you met him.”

“Yeah, he’s great,” Tony agreed, just going with the strategy of letting whatever the fuck his friends had just been referencing slide.

“And he means that you don’t have to sort things out with Rhodey,” said Pepper, a little more seriously.

“Shut up,” Tony muttered. Fuck, he had to ask. “Have you, uh, have you spoken to him recently?”

“Every day,” said Pepper. “And he won’t tell me what you did to upset him so much. I hope you grow up soon.”

“It’s not…” Tony sighed. “Fuck. Never mind.”

Pepper shook her head and started towards the door. Tony followed.

“You know, Tony, I think that Aldrich genuinely hates you,” said Pepper.

Tony cleared his throat. “Yeah? Why’s that?”

Pepper didn’t answer that question. She sighed just shook her head. “He’s not the worst person in the world, you know,” she said. “And you know what? You’re going to talk to this guy that Natasha recommended.”

With that, she turned away from him and left the building. She hurried off down the steps towards the car, and Happy. Tony followed behind, dragging his feet a little. He reached into his pocket and clasped his phone tight. He fingered the screen, but let it be.

 


	2. Planning and Forethought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly I was sick for a good while as I was trying to get this chapter finished, so it took longer than I planned to get it done. But, I got better and got to work and here we are! And I'm hoping that I'll be forgiven for the unexpected delay because introduced in this chapter is the frost half of frostiron. 
> 
> Thanks again to my beta for being patient and supportive. I don't know what I'd do without them, I really don't. And thanks to you guys for all the amazing support that you've already given me. You're all gosh darn amazing. Just sayin.

[From: Madame Potts  
18:38

 _I set up a meeting with Loki, alright? I thought it was worth a go. I’ve asked Bruce to make sure that you get there on time._ ]

[To: Madame Potts  
18:40

 _Oh, you’re on a first-name basis with him, are you? That’s cute._ ]

[From: Madame Potts  
18:43

 _I’m so glad that you’re taking this seriously. Do you want me to talk about slander, Tony?_ ]

[From: Madame Potts  
18:57

 _Tony._ ]

[To: Madame Potts  
18:58

 _Okay okay. I’ll be good. Bruce is gonna make sure I get there anyway, right?_ ]

[From: Madame Potts  
19:01

 _Right. Tomorrow morning. Ten o’clock. We should be able to speak to Natasha once we’ve seen Loki._ ]

[To: Madame Potts  
19:04

 _Great, sounds like a party. I can hardly wait._ ]

[From: Madame Potts  
19:05

 _I’m sure._ ]

[To: Bruce  
19:07

 _Looking forward to babysitting me tomorrow, Bruce? I miss you. Xx_ ]

[From: Bruce  
19:10

 _I can hardly contain myself._ ]

[To: Bruce  
19:10

 _Oh, I’ll bet._ ]

[From: Bruce  
19:19

 _Hey, Tony? Can I talk to you about something soon?_ ]

[To: Bruce  
19:21

 _I guess. When?_ ]

[From: Bruce  
19:23

 _Not when I see you tomorrow morning. But, soon_.]

[To: Bruce  
19:24

 _Of course, Brucie. See you tomorrow, my song, my perfect silence._ ]

Bruce didn’t dignify that with a response, which in reality was probably for the best. Tony was a dumbass, there was no denying that, but that was because, whether he said so openly or not, he was nervous. About everything. But, he was still in the spirit of pretending that he wasn't so, when Romanoff sent over a late night email with just an "oh, by the way, Clint's represented Loki, but Clint has nothing to do with your case if you're worried," or whatever, Tony assured her with a joke that was more than okay and he would say so by email, on paper and in person. Nothing was wrong. Tony was fine.

x-x-x

It actually didn’t occur to Tony until they arrived that Loki had an office with the fucking _Asgard Group._ But then, perhaps that was fitting.

The Asgard Group offices were intimidating. Sure, Tony had some possibly sinister offices himself, but this place was like … It was a fucking cathedral is what it was. It was large, sleek, every bit of art and furniture probably worth a small fortune. 

Bruce had shown up to make sure that Tony actually got to the meeting. (“Do you have any ties that aren’t red?” was how he greeted him.) He went with Tony into the building and walked with him as they were directed to some sort of side reception, down a hall and out of the way. It was nowhere near as striking as the building’s lobby there. The couches looked cheaper, and there were just two doors. One was marked “LOKI LAUFEYSON. IMAGE MANAGER AND CRISIS CONSULTANT” while the other was marked as “UTILITIES.”

Tony got the impression that this place had no love for Laufeyson. Maybe that showed that Romanoff had a lot of faith in his work, or maybe it showed something else entirely.

Of course, Pepper was already there, sitting on one of the couches with her phone. When she saw Tony and Bruce she smiled.

“Bruce!” she said cheerfully. “How’re you?”

Bruce laughed. “Hey. Yeah, I’m okay.”

Tony stuck his tongue out at Pepper before crossing the room to sit down opposite her. Bruce perched on the edge of the same couch, looking around apprehensively.

“Am I the only one who feels underdressed?” he asked.

“Yeah. I feel like we lack the expected ceremonial robes,” said Tony. He looked to Pepper, whose attention seemed firmly on her phone.

“Don’t you like me no more, Pep?”

“Not right now, no.” She seemed to give up on whatever she was doing with her phone. “Shit, I’m tired.”

Tony gasped and clutched his chest. “Miss Potts! You just said a swear!” he said in a stage whisper.

“Well, I really am tired. And I’m sick of you being all over the internet.”

Tony shrugged. “So … image consultant.”

Pepper rolled her eyes. “I’m weighing my options, Tony.” A pause, then, “Do you know how many times something you’ve said has been auto-tuned?”

“Seven!” Tony proclaimed. “You guys remember the interview where I called that guy an anteater? Stark vs. Anteater is an awesome song.”

Bruce shrugged. “Stark Smackdown has a better bass line.”

“I’m glad that you’re both taking this so seriously.”

Tony nodded, earnest. “Getting autotuned is a serious matter.”

Pepper looked at him for a moment, eyes dark. “I spoke to Rhodey last night you know.”

Tony quashed the sudden desire to choke to death and said “Yeah?” as casually as one can.

“Yes. He says that he had to take a break because of, uh, the straw that broke the camel’s back. Quit with the straws, Tony.”

Tony clicked his tongue. “That’s what this guy is for, right?” He jerked his head towards Loki’s door.

“Yes.”

With that, silence fell, and somehow Tony found himself studying Bruce. The man always seemed uncomfortable in his skin as it was, but this place and its somehow antagonising décor were clearly no help. He was picking at a loose thread on his sleeve, eyes fixed on his knees.

Finally, the door marked as Loki’s opened to reveal a clean cut, every hair in place sort of man. He was talking on his cell phone, straightening his green tie distractedly as he did so. He had a crisp, clear voice. A real unmistakable accent. It was …

Nope. Tony didn’t have an opinion.

“I am aware of that, sir but – no, I’d not say that.” His expression gave nothing away, yet Tony sensed a bite to his voice. “If you think that best, sir, then do so. I see no need to tell me.” He looked across the room and seemed to make eye contact with Pepper. “Yeah, if that is all then I have to—yes. Thank you.”

He hung up without another word and pocketed his phone, attention still in Pepper’s direction.

“Forgive me,” he said, perfectly pleasant.

“Not at all,” said an equally friendly Pepper. She crossed the room and shook the man’s hand. “I assume that Loki is still okay?”

“It is,” said Loki, with a smile that seemed to Tony to be empty, somehow. “And I take it—?”

“Virginia, yes.”

Tony turned to Bruce and mouthed, “Who’s Virginia?” and Bruce just shook his head. Tony decided not to ask if Loki had some aversion to nicknames.

Pepper cleared her throat. Tony popped up out of his seat.

“Yeah!” he said. And then, rather than introducing himself, “See this guy here, Loki? This is Bruce. He’s the babysitter you’re replacing.”

Loki quirked an eyebrow, just noticeably. “Then I imagine that he is rather glad of your being here.”

“I am, yeah,” said Bruce quietly. “Hey, Tony? I think I’m going to…” He stood, eyes darting around the room. “I think I’m going to, go somewhere that isn’t here. Good luck,” he added to Loki before making his exit.

“Poor guy,” said Tony. “I’m pretty sure this place scares the shit out of him.”

“Mm.” Loki seemed dark, perhaps as if he sympathized or understood. But he was quickly back to the earlier state of pure pleasantness. “Could you join me in my office, Mr. Stark?”

Tony shrugged. “Sure.”

Loki nodded and vanished back through the door. Tony hurried to Pepper’s side before she could follow.

“He called me Mr. Stark,” he murmured, his eyes wide.

“And I’m happy for you.”

“Damn well should be.”

They entered Loki’s office, and Tony found that he was struck by the fact that it seemed somehow different from what else he had seen of this building. There were elements of the same décor but this room, relatively small, seemed … quiet. There was none of the height and grandeur. In fact, the office somehow felt scholarly. Books and papers everywhere, though not one out of place. Tony kind of liked it.

In the corner of the office stood a couch facing a couple of chairs. (Fuck, was this to be Tony’s aesthetic now?) Tony and Pepper were invited to sit. Pepper was the one to give thanks, dragging Tony by the arm and making him sit next to her on the couch. Loki, who reacted none to that display, took a chair.

“So, Mr. Stark,” he said once he was settled—though not comfortably, as he sat on the chair like he wanted nothing to do with it. Real rod up his ass type, this one seemed to be.

“Mr. Stark, that’s me.” He smiled at Pepper, who just looked at him blankly. Hmph.

“As you’re no doubt aware, Mr. Stark,” Loki said pointedly, “there have been some concerns about your behavior.” Tony only shrugged, and so Loki continued with, “If I am hired, it will be my job to minimize any adverse effect that your actions might have on the reputation of yourself and your company.”

“My actions specifically?”

“Yes, your actions specifically. And, given your history, I’m hardly going to pretend that hiring me is a bad idea.”

“Ah, you’re just saying that,” said Tony.

Loki ignored that. “Natasha Romanoff is representing you.”

“That she is.”

“Well, earlier this morning she requested that I ask you something.” He leaned back in his chair. “Are you going to apologize to Aldrich Killian, Mr. Stark?”

“I—”

Loki raised his hand slightly to silence him and Tony snapped his mouth shut. Pepper was giving off serious fucking-behave-yourself vibes anyway.

“You see, Mr. Stark, Miss Romanoff and I already know the answer to that question, which is why we foresee this being difficult. Miss Romanoff has yet to share with me her theory of this case, but I know her well enough to make an educated guess.”

Tony nodded, slowly. “Which means…”

Loki chuckled. But it seemed hollow. “I’m sure if I really tried that I could spin the two of us working together into a conflict of interest.”

“Huh?”

“Mr. Stark, slander is a difficult case to prove, yes, but somehow I doubt that _you_ can show that MIA stole anything from Stark Industries.” A noticeable inhale. “Or, the Asgard Group. Nor could you prove anything else, either.”

A moment of quiet before Pepper asked, “What are you thinking?”

Loki was silent for a long moment before giving his answer. “I am unable to say if this case, in particular, is too much to worry about.  But, the advantage of a twenty-four-hour news cycle is that things like this do get dull quickly, and there is always something new.”

“Curse of the meme,” said Tony.

“Quite,” said Loki. “But.”

“But…” said Tony, hoping his impatience wasn’t betrayed in his tone.

“If there is to be a problem, it will be that this returns people to things you have done in the past. In all honesty, a scandal always does. I was on that forum, ah, Jormungand before this consult and there were several threads about you and Aldrich Killian. And…” He looked for a moment as if he was going to skirt around something, but, “Given your business, Mr. Stark, and given what your business has done, you could do without extra negative publicity.”

“Oh, you mean the business of blowing shit up? ‘Cause Stark Industries does other stuff. Promise.”

“I am well aware.” Loki cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, that is irrelevant. The business of, ah, blowing shit up is one with the power to overshadow.”

“So…”

“So, as it would be my job to care for your public image, I should ensure that you handle your disagreement with Aldrich Killian as well as can be managed.  You are lucky that you seem to have endeared a great many people, Mr. Stark, but there is no getting around—”

“Merchant of death?”

“Mm.” Loki took in a sharp breath. “Take the Asgard Group as an example. It too has had business in the arms trade. You’re familiar with the Mjolnir Initiative, yes?”

“I am, yeah,” said Tony. “That was pretty cool, actually. I was kind of jealous of that. You didn’t hear that from me, of course.

“Yes, well.” Loki shifted in his seat. He looked uncomfortable with what he was saying. “Despite this, the Asgard Group as a glowing reputation. This is in part because the best-known face of the company has never been caught half naked on camera, insulted a well-liked President, or accused anyone’s mother of engaging in sexual intercourse with a camelid.”

Tony turned to Pepper. “Did I say that?”

“You did,” she lamented.

“Oh, okay,” Tony said. He turned back to Loki. “I suppose I see your point. Pepper made me go see a speech Odin Borson gave last year. I mean, I know nothing about the guy, but … He seems very wise?”

“So I am informed,” said Loki in a monotone. “Mr. Stark, I am afraid that your reputation precedes you. Even your friends don’t always speak highly of you.”

Tony’s heart stopped. “What friends would they be?”

Loki considered Tony for a moment.

“Natasha Romanoff introduced me to a friend of hers recently, though I've only ever spoken to him on the phone. A Judge Fury. He was her mentor when she first left law school. I called His Honor this morning. He is less than impressed with your conduct.”

Something clicked in Tony’s head, and he remembered the sign he had seen at the Barton Romanoff offices. “Oh, the Barton Romanoff Fury is Old Man Fury? Yeah, he loves me, I’ll have you know. He just … doesn’t like me a lot of the time.

“Mm.” Loki cleared his throat. “Might I promise you something, Mr. Stark?”

“Uh. Go for it.”

Loki took in a breath, slowly. “I want to assure now that if you lie to me, I will know. I have to. And I won’t call you out for every single dishonesty, but know now that if you can’t co-operate then I can’t help you. And I…” He seemed to change his mind. “Do you understand?”

“I, uh…” Tony could feel Pepper’s eyes on him, so he soldiered on. “Yeah, sure I understand.” And he wasn’t an idiot, either. “So you want to ask me something now, don’t you?”

Loki smiled. “I do. Mr. Stark, if it this came to you having to apologize to Aldrich Killian, could you do it?”

Tony debated answering. In the end, he decided fuck it.

“No, I don’t … I don’t think so. Fuck, am I the only one who’s noticed that Killian is actually kind of a douche bag?”

Pepper sighed. “Tony.”

“Hey, he asked for honesty.”

“I did,” said Loki. “I will work with what I have.” He smiled again. “And I will do a good job if Mr. Stark behaves himself.”

“Hey, I’ll give it a shot,” said Tony, if only because Pepper was glaring at him.

“Okay,” said Pepper. “So, what next?”

Loki looked thoughtful for a moment, before leaning forward in his seat and looking at Tony intently. They sat like that for a few long moments. It was some serious excessive eye contact. And it was starting to get to Tony. So, concentrating hard, Tony leaned forwards, mirroring Loki, and purposefully popped a ‘p’ with his lips.

For a moment, Loki just looked at him. He seemed completely unabashed. Then he let out a small sigh, not unlike those Rhodey would use when he knew not to indulge Tony by admitting that he was amused. That done, Loki sat back in his seat. Tony mirrored him again.

“Mr Stark,” Loki began, “Natasha and I are working together when it comes to Aldrich Killian and this suit. Whether or not he wins may turn out to be irrelevant, but we will see what we can do. And, until Natasha tells you that things are progressing you are going to stay quiet. You are not going to openly retaliate to anything that Killian and his supporters might say.”

“Yeah. Well. I haven’t done that anyway.” As Tony said this, Pepper reached into his jacket pocket and took out his cell. He didn’t question it.

“And yet I felt the need to future proof,” said Loki. “Now, I would suggest reading some of the things that have emerged online about this situation. Killian’s lawyers appear to have done nothing about any posts, even those which are potentially problematic, and even if we wanted to, doing so could make you look guilty. So, everything is up there for you to see. Pay attention to it. You have my number, yes?” He looked at Pepper.

“Yes, I just put it in his phone,” she said as she returned it to Tony’s pocket.

Tony grinned at Loki. An idea had struck him. “Hey, can I have _your_ phone?”

Loki quirked an eyebrow, but produced his phone, unlocked it and handed it over. Tony had no intention of prying, yet couldn’t help feel a little disappointed that the phone gave nothing about him away. The wallpaper was the fucking Asgard Group logo. Tony went ahead and entered his cell number (why not, eh?) under “Tony ;)” before handing it back.

“Thank you,” said Loki. “Will you do as I asked you, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah. I guess I will.” Even if Tony wanted to be stubborn here, it wouldn’t gain him anything.

Pepper smiled at Tony before checking the time. “Oh yes, I have a meeting to get to.” She turned to Loki. “If you don’t mind?”

“Of course not.” He cocked his head. “Will I be seeing Mr. Stark again?”

“I think you will,” said Pepper. She smiled at Tony. “Come on, let’s try and get you doing something useful.”

“But, Mom!” Tony whined.

Pepper said nothing in response, merely waving him towards the door. “Thank you again,” she said to Loki.

Loki nodded.

“See you, Loki,” said Tony with a grin, waggling his fingers. He liked to think he was doing a good job of not giving away how he felt about the whole crisis consultant situation.

“Do try not to let anyone down, Mr. Stark.”

Tony only nodded before following Pepper out of the office and closing the door.

“He’s still doing the Mr. Stark thing,” he observed.

Pepper shrugged. “You didn’t ask him not to.”

“Yeah. Well.” Tony cleared his throat. “I didn’t want him to.”

Pepper raised an eyebrow at that. Perhaps she was trying to work out whether or not he was serious, or perhaps she did know and was amused. Then, suddenly, she laughed.

Tony didn’t say anything.

x-x-x

Natasha had invaded Clint’s office and was sat on his couch with her shoes kicked off, thinking through the situation with her friend at the Asgard Group. A forgotten laptop rested beside her. Meanwhile Clint was at his desk, staring intently at some file. The two had not spoken since Natasha had entered quietly twenty minutes previously. In fact, they had barely acknowledged one another. Yet, there was something that Clint needed to address.

He didn’t look up from his work as he spoke.

“Something is bothering you.”

Natasha considered. Finally, eyes on the ceiling, she said, “Loki.”

Clint looked up. “Oh, of course. What did he do this time?”

“You know he didn’t do anything.” Natasha looked at her partner. “It’s … everything.”

“Good, so an easy fix then.” And when Natasha wasn’t amused, “No, I know what you mean. He’s not himself.”

“You look worried,” Natasha observed. “You don’t even like him.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t tell when something is wrong.”

Clint had always been appreciative of the fact that his chair was on wheels. As Natasha kept up that worried expression, he wheeled himself across his office. He stopped his chair a few feet away from the couch. Natasha raised her eyebrow at him but said nothing about it.

What she did say was, “I referred Pepper and Stark to him.”

Clint nodded, slowly. “But they’re not getting Loki, are they? They’re getting Loki Lite.”

“Clint.”

“No, you have to know what I mean,” said Clint, voice louder than he intended. “I don’t dislike Loki because he’s a consummate professional who’s polite to a fault. The reason I’ve never liked him is that he’s nothing like that, and I can’t trust him. The reason you’re worried is because he’s responded to everything that’s happened to him by just, just cutting out his own personality, right?”

Natasha sighed. “Right.”

“So, what? You think working with Tony Stark will help with that?”

“Actually I do. I think they could help each other.”

Clint shrugged. “Maybe they will. You know Loki better than I do.”

“No, I really don’t,” said Natasha.

Clint shrugged again. “So, what? Are we trying to stop Stark being a douchebag by returning Loki to his factory douchebag setting?”

“I guess we are.” And as she said it she finally smiled.

Clint swore under his breath. “Had to say ‘we’ didn’t I. Gets me every time.”

“You want to work on that.”

Clint took a deep breath. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Nat.”

“I always do,” said Natasha with a smile. She just didn’t know whether or not what she was doing would help.

“Well, I hope you work out everything that he’s hiding from you,” said Clint. “Because hearing clues from the kid before he stopped coming over was a little scary, I’ll admit.” A moment’s pause. “Come to think of it, the fact that the kid doesn’t visit is a bit of a clue itself.”

“Yeah,” said Natasha. “It’s okay. We have that plan, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Clint. “That seconds old, bound to fail plan.”

He sighed loudly and rolled back to his desk. Once there, he returned to his files.

“You know,” he said quietly, “freaky as it is, Loki’s not acting _that_ weird. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“Mm, robot Loki,” said Natasha, pulling out her phone. “That’s not at all unhealthy.”

****

[To: Loki Odinson, Tony Stark  
16:38

 _In my office at nine tomorrow, ok? I’d like to deal with this before Killian can aggravate the problem_.]

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm here, do you guys mind a little shameless self promotion? I just thought I'd let you know that if you aren't already aware, my Tumblr is also librariankiss. It's where I share all my fanfic stuff, and the other consequences of my deep seated obsession with MCU. 
> 
> You know. Gifs, mostly. And worship of Samuel L. Jackson. It's all cool, right?


	3. Ship and Port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce just wants a ship to sail and Tony's worried about Loki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I acknowledge that this chapter took inexcusably long to write. Not only was it a problem chapter, but man I thought I was going to get back into writing and then life got in the way big time. But lucky me, everything has calmed down, and I've had a lot more time on my hands. I'm going to be able to update more frequently, which makes me so happy you have no idea.
> 
> Thanks again to everyone who's contacted me, given me feedback or left kudos! You guys are my heroes.

[To: Loki Odinson, Tony Stark  
16:38

 _In my office at nine tomorrow, ok? I’d like to deal with this before Killian can aggravate the problem._ ]

x-x-x

Tony ended up meeting Bruce later that day at some crappy diner, the sort of place where no one gave a shit if you were the type of person who liked to stamp your name across everything you were responsible for, however destructive. Tony had been to this place a couple of times before with Bruce, and plenty times before that with Rhodey. He tended to sit at the same table at every visit, right in the back corner. It gave him a good view of the soap opera style arguments that seemed to break out every few times he was there.

Tony remembered Bruce’s request to talk to Tony about something, something which had been on Pepper’s mind too. But Tony sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. He didn’t respond to the text from Romanoff (which arrived just seconds after he and Bruce sat down) either.

Bruce was sitting opposite Tony. If drama were to break out, Bruce would have his back to it. Recently Bruce had been great; he had been there for Tony. Tony hadn’t said so, but he was fucking grateful, especially as they hadn’t known one another all that long. The thing was, though, that Bruce himself was having a difficult time too. Another thing that Tony wasn't going to say was that he felt like he and Bruce were in it together.

Tony had no real clue how Bruce was doing. He got himself invested in whatever happened to Tony but had never really spoken about anything that was on his mind. Tony hadn’t pushed him to change that.

Bruce was staring at his mud-colored coffee as if it had done him a great personal wrong. Not taking his eyes off it, he muttered, “So did you have fun with that consultant yesterday?”

“Oh yeah, Loki Laufeyson. He of the funny name.”

Bruce looked thoughtful. “You know the word ‘tony’ as an adjective means, like, fashionable among wealthy people. And ‘stark’ I guess means bare, so … naked.” He laughed. “That’s actually beautiful.”

Tony smiled. “Yeah. I like it.”

“Oh of course you do.” Bruce took a sip of his drink. “Yeah, that tastes terrible.”

“The best way for coffee to be, you know. You’re not wallowing in your problems right if you’re drinking the good stuff.”

“Sure,” said Bruce. Tony half expected some alcohol-related comment, but instead, he got, “I guess.”

Tony frowned. “Bruce? You okay there?”

Bruce sighed. “No, not really.” Another laugh. It sounded hollow. “You know, I realized when you called me earlier that you’re the only person that I actually talk to right now. Other than a few conversations with Pepper, I mean. My cousin lives in this city, and I don’t remember the last time I talked to her.” A moment's pause. “She’s a lawyer, actually.”

“Huh.” Tony had no idea what to say. “Lawyers, lawyers, everywhere…”

As Tony trailed off his gaze lost focus, and he ended up staring out of the window at the bleak picture outside.

“The weather’s kind of shitty right now, huh?” he observed. He turned back to Bruce to find the man raising his eyebrows.

“Did you just ask me about the weather?”

“What?” said Tony. He took a drink of his coffee and smirked. “Aw, am I ruining our date?”

“You might be, a little bit.”

Tony leaned forwards, resting his elbows on the table. “You know, Brucie, we’ve been going on these dates for a while now, and you haven’t been…” A joking sigh. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but … We haven’t gotten intimate yet, and I’m starting to feel like you’re just not attracted to me.”

Bruce threw a sugar packet at him.

“Hey! There was still sugar in that, you bitch.” He lifted his tie and brushed off the granules.

Bruce frowned. “Again with the red tie?”

“Yeah, I have no idea what that means.” He dropped his tie and blew a raspberry at nothing. “Point still stands.”

Bruce laughed. “What point?” A thought seemed to strike him. “Hey, can I ask you something?

“Uh…” Come on, it was only Bruce. “Yeah, sure. Go ahead.”

“Um. It’s nothing really. Just that, uh, the thing that I’m supposed to be talking to you about.” Bruce suddenly looked unsure, but Tony did remember that he’d asked to talk about something, so.

“Come on, what’s up?” Tony prompted.

Bruce took a breath. “I was just wondering, um, since we’re on the subject of how hanging out with me hasn’t gotten you laid…”

Tony understood. “Shit, Bruce, are you asking me if I’m getting any?”

Bruce shrugged. “I think I am, yeah.

“Okay then,” said Tony. He let out a breath of laughter. “You know that’s not a question that Rhodey would ask me.”

At that, Bruce’s expression darkened. “I’m not Rhodey.”

“I know,” said Tony. Bruce was avoiding his eyes, so Tony leaned a little further forward. “I know, Banner.”

“Yeah.” Bruce nodded, smiled. “Yeah.”

This seemed like an opportune moment to move the fuck on.

“Okey dokey,” said Tony. He took a breath and threw himself back in his seat. “So… am I getting any? Why do you ask?”

“Because…” Bruce grimaced. “It’s not just the internet that calls you a playboy, Tony. You call yourself one too. And I think it’s odd to do that if…” He looked suddenly as if he’d been slapped in the face. “You know you've bragged a lot while drunk, but you’ve only had sex once since I met you. Actually, no, because that was how I – so I guess not even once then.”

“Oh shit, Banner.” Tony held up his hands in apology, remembering how he and Bruce first met. “I swear to fuck, I thought I’d locked the door.”

“As you reminded me every twenty minutes for the first three days I knew you.” Bruce sighed.

“I still don’t know why you ask, you know.” Tony folded his arms. “And what makes you think that was the last time I—?”

Bruce cut him off. “Do you have any idea just how much time we’ve been spending together?”

“Yeah, okay.” Tony leaned forward again. “If you want to stop our quest to watch everything on Netflix, you can just say so you know.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. I’m grateful that you’ve been spending time with me, given everything.”

“Yeah, of course,” Tony assured him.

Bruce took a deep breath. “Look, Pepper actually got hold of me the other day. The Killian thing distracted me from bringing it up, I guess.”

“What are you talking about?”

Bruce bit his lip before downing a great deal of his coffee. It made him grimace. “Pepper thinks you’re lonely. Or … I don’t know what she thinks, but she’s worried because you do actually spend every minute that you can with me.”

“Maybe I just don’t like being alone.”

“I don’t think that’s true, Tony. Not twenty-four seven.” Shit, there was such an open sincerity in Bruce’s tone. “And I like you, you know I do, but I can only watch so much—”

“Hate on Mythbusters and we have an issue, Bruce,” said Tony lightly.

“Mm,” Bruce said. “Pepper just … she thinks that you’re unhappy and that you were the same before you met me, and if not for that you wouldn’t have been such an asshole to Aldrich Killian. That bit she told me after the suing thing,” he clarified quickly.

Tony frowned. He wanted to take a second to think about what Bruce had just said because, seriously, what the fuck? Was this really the sort of thing that Pepper worried about? Was this really something bothering her so much that she would go to Bruce about it?

Besides, Tony was okay. He was, and spending time with Bruce because he liked him. Avoiding speaking to Rhodey because Rhodey was avoiding him. Said what he had to Killian because … okay, he didn’t know why. Because he was tired and drunk and pissed off, probably.

What the hell, Pep?

“Okay, I could probably have explained that better,” said Bruce, eventually. “But I honestly had no idea how to bring that up.”

“Yeah.”

Tony Stark, without words. Killian would be fucking delighted.

“But actually, I’m serious,” Bruce continued. “I can’t claim to know you as well as Pepper, but it doesn’t seem to me that you are all that happy right now.” He paused. He looked down and around as if what he wanted to say next could be found somewhere on the table. “Okay, Tony. Please tell me something.”

Tony blinked. “What?”

“I mean. Just tell me _something_.” He swallowed visibly. “Are you okay, Tony?”

Tony took a long, deep breath. He fell back in his chair, and his eyes dropped to his knees. Fuck did he not want to be having this conversation, but it didn’t seem like Bruce was going to let it go.

“Well, no, I guess,” Tony murmured.

Bruce nodded. “Is it Rhodey?”

Tony’s head shot up. “What? No!” Fuck. “I mean, sure, maybe that’s part of it. It sucks that he’s not talking to me, but I guess it’s not the end of the world.”

“You never really told me why he isn’t talking to you,” Bruce said.

“Yeah, I know,” said Tony, “but I guess there are a lot of reasons. Maybe I was just a little too much like me for too long, and he got tired of it.” Shit, was he actually saying this aloud? He’d barely let himself think any of this before, let alone say it.

Bruce nodded. He seemed to get it - or at least come as close as anyone could. “I see. Just, Pepper wanted me to bring up, you know, that stuff, for a reason. She’s worried about you. And so am I.”

“Yeah. Thank you.” Tony looked at him, painting his expression into one of fake suspicion. “So you, what? Want me to get laid?”

“I want you to maybe think about spending some time with someone other than me is all,” said Bruce. “Because I …” He sighed and shook his head. “No, never mind. It’s fine.”

“What?” said Tony, and when he got no response, “What?”

Bruce clenched his jaw. Then, suddenly, slammed his fist on the table. “I said it’s fine, Tony!”

Tony flinched. Bruce’s voice had spiked in volume. But the place happened to be empty, and the one guy behind the counter was dancing a little to whatever was playing through his headphones and didn’t seem to notice. Tony had witnessed something like this just twice since meeting Bruce, but it was evident that the man had quite the hidden temper. Even Tony knew that he shouldn’t push this.

“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s okay, it’s cool. I’m dropping it.”

Bruce nodded fervently. He was hunched over in his seat. Poor guy always seemed to hate himself a little bit after he lost his temper.

“So, uh…” It took Bruce a few seconds to go for a topic. “How’d it go with your crisis manager?”

“He calls me Mr. Stark,” said Tony.

“Is that so?

“One of my favorite things about him, you know.”

Bruce smiled again, though it seemed a little sad. “Can he help?”

“Eh, I guess so,” said Tony. “Hey, do you think he charges a lot for babysitting billionaires?”

“Considering that they’re billionaires? I hope so,” said Bruce. “But also considering that they’re billionaires, I think they can handle it.”

“Yeah.” Tony made a popping sound. He could have sworn that he was better at conversation than this. “So … how’s that job hunt thing going?”

“It’s fine,” said Bruce. Clearly bullshit. “Spending all my time with you isn’t helping, by the way. And I can’t stay between jobs forever.” He smiled and pointed to his coffee. “You’re paying for this.”

“Yeah, alright,” Tony said. “Billionaire, after all.”

“Mm,” Bruce agreed. There was silence for a few moments, and then Bruce asked, “Are you gonna use worrying about Killian and this image consultant guy to ignore what we talked about?”

“Dammit, you saw through my cunning scheme.” But Bruce didn't look impressed. “I heard what you said, Brucie. I gotta get laid, right?”

“That is absolutely not what I said.” Bruce paused then. He raised his eyebrows, and his gaze darted down beneath the table. “Please move your knee.”

Tony grinned.

x-x-x

Tomorrow at nine came and, once again, Tony was on that awful couch. Romanoff wasn’t present. She had walked Tony to the office when he arrived but left shortly afterward.

Tony was playing a little spying game. He hadn’t wanted to, at first, but fuck. He couldn’t help it. He blamed it on the damn glass walls. He could see into the conference room from where he sat if he looked behind himself. True, there was no subtlety to the position he had to be in to watch the goings on, but nobody was paying any attention to him anyway.

Tony suspected that Loki had texted Romanoff something, because before she made her exit she had pulled out her phone, read something, and joined Loki in the conference room soon after.

Tony watched as Romanoff and Loki talked. Romanoff looked grave. She barely moved when she spoke. Tony imagined that she was talking quietly, in a way that might unnerve Tony were her words directed at him.

Loki, on the other hand, seemed indifferent. He took a seat at the conference table and kept up about half the conversation, but even though Romanoff wasn’t excessively animated, Tony was sure that she was getting frustrated. The conversation went on for a few minutes. Loki looked at his phone once or twice, reading for a good few seconds, but typed nothing.

Then Barton showed up, looking solemn, and Tony definitely noticed that Loki was avoiding Barton’s eye. Huh.

The effort to keep his gaze from Barton’s resulted in Loki looking in Tony’s direction. Tony was just about to play dumb and look away when Loki quirked an eyebrow at him. Loki looked at Tony carefully for a second, then smirked. Or Tony thought he did, at least. It was … it was weird. Before he had worked it out, though, Loki jerked his head towards Romanoff and Tony nodded. With that, he turned away from the conference room scene. His guess was that Romanoff would follow Loki’s gaze and catch Tony watching, and that she wouldn’t like him doing so.

While he waited, Tony found his mind wandering. Of course, he couldn’t help but get caught thinking about that fucking conversation he’d had with Bruce. Tony was pretty sure he knew where Pepper was coming from, and how she would have expressed it had she been the one to have the conversation with him. He wasn’t sure why she had brought Bruce into it in the first place. Hell, he hadn’t even been aware that the two spoke to each other outside of conversations that involved Tony. And then there was Killian and all of that shit…

Tony honestly had no clue what was going on anymore.

Impulsively, he looked back over his shoulder. The conference room was empty. He felt himself go limp where he sat, and he started messing with his cufflinks for something to do. He almost didn’t look up when the door opened.

“Sorry about that, Tony,” said Romanoff with a theatrical sweetness as she walked to her desk. Even Tony was perceptive enough to know that she was a better liar than this. She just didn’t care to fool Tony into thinking that he was one of her favorite people.

As Romanoff took a seat, Loki did the same on the chair Romanoff had occupied on Tony’s first visit to this office. He seemed for a moment distracted by something on his phone, but it was soon abandoned as if nothing onto the glass coffee table.

“Okay,” said Romanoff, leaning forwards and resting her hands flat on her desk. “I’m going to make this simple, alright?”

“Sure,” said Tony, cautious. He looked to Loki, who was looking into the middle distance with an unreadable expression.

“We know how it works. Slander is hard to prove, but Killian is going for it anyway. So, his lawyers are either pretty convinced they can win or winning has nothing to do with it.”

“Yep, I’m an asshole,” said Tony cheerfully. “That’s his point, right?”

“Right,” said Romanoff.

“Right.” Tony let out a breath and said of Killian, “Asshole.”

“Our investigator’s asked enough questions by now, Tony,” Romanoff said. “She knows that he can claim plenty of damages. And while I’m sure that you could buy the man a private island and not feel it, it’s still my job to stop it from going too far. And it’s Loki’s to keep you from looking too much like a jackass.” She smiled at Loki. “That might be the more difficult job.”

“I think it ... feasible,” said Loki. His phone beeped, but it was ignored. And it was just far enough across the table that Tony couldn't read what popped up on the screen.

Romanoff flipped open a file. “Right, so I’ve dealt with Killian’s lawyers a couple of times now. Nice guys; haven’t sold their souls like Barton and me yet. And to be fair, they could give us plenty of trouble.”

“Ah. Nelson and Murdock,” said Loki.

“How could you tell?” said Romanoff with a smile. “If they’re doing this, then they’re going to take it seriously. Which means that we have to as well, alright?”

Tony crossed his arms. “I don’t know what you’re implying.”

“Mm.” Romanoff looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, they haven’t told me what they want yet and to be honest I don’t want to guess, so I’m waiting.” Her attention was caught for a second when Loki’s phone beeped again, but she moved on. “And I thought we should ask for Loki’s help because I could tell that Pepper was worried.”

“About?”

“Everyone thinks you’re an ass, Tony.”

“Yeah, but…” Tony cleared his throat. “They thought that before this happened.”

“And this happening isn’t helping. I’m sure you already know that Pepper’s tired of more behavior than just this.”

“Yeah, she uh … She might have said that. Maybe.”

“I know,” said Romanoff. “So. Because everyone thinks you’re an ass, Loki’s going to minimize the damage to your public image while I try and get this lawsuit out of the way. That’s all, okay? So just do as you’re told, and we’ll be fine.”

“Mm.” This from Loki, who didn’t sound like he believed that Tony would behave at all. He gave Tony an emotionless smile. “You have a television interview.”

Tony frowned. “I do?”

“You do,” Loki affirmed, yet again not checking his phone as it went off. He did, however, lean forward to switch to silent. Tony wondered if any guy could justify having such a gold phone.

“Oh gee! Neato!” Tony felt like he was drowning in his own cheap sarcasm. "Uh. Why?"

“Aldrich Killian is a guest on this Thursday's episode of _The Sixteenth Wall_.”

“Good for him,” said Tony flatly.

“I know that you think Aldrich Killian obnoxious, Mr. Stark. That much is obvious,” said Loki over the sound of his phone buzzing on the table. “As do I, from what I observed of him. But that has never been his public image. He has not had the exposure that you have enjoyed, nor has he thrown a party because a bomb successfully destroyed some structure.”

“S’not why I had that party; they just happened to be at about the same time,” Tony grumbled.

“Yes, and that detail was clearly of outstanding importance to those who criticized you.”

Tony gave in. “Okay, so you want me to play nice and do that TV appearance?”

“Yes,” said Loki. That smile returned. “It’s not far way. Friday.” 

“Uh-huh, and that’s good?”

“According to Loki, it is,” said Romanoff. “He’s the expert.”

Loki shook his head, and Natasha smiled. Tony was definitely missing an inside joke.

Tony frowned. Today was a Tuesday. “Short notice, isn't it?”

“Not as such,” Loki said.

“Loki has friends everywhere. It's fascinating,” said Romanoff.

“I have acquaintances, at least,” Loki said. “And you, Mr. Stark, have an interview on Friday.”

 **** “Yay. Fun.”

“I will meet with you beforehand to ensure that you don’t—”

“Say some dumb shit?”

“Yes,” said Loki. His phone buzzed yet again. His eyes went to it for a second, and his expression darkened. One text too far, maybe.

“Answer your brother, will you?” demanded Romanoff. “It's been long enough.”

Loki’s took in a breath, just noticeably. His jaw seemed to clench. Tony felt like he was invading his privacy just by looking at the guy, but he couldn’t help it. His attention was caught. Romanoff had essentially thrown a scrap of Loki’s personal life into the ring. No hiding that scrap from the cameras now.

The seconds went by. It was getting uncomfortable. Tony almost opened his mouth to say something, but Natasha raised a finger to silence him before he got there. Barely above the desk's surface. Perhaps to keep Loki from noticing her movement.

All of a sudden Loki snapped up his phone and left the room. The suddenness of his movement injected unease into the atmosphere, which sat with Tony even once the door had closed behind the man.

Okay. This meeting had derailed quickly.

“Are you going to be okay being in the same room as Killian if it’s needed?” Romanoff asked suddenly. It was as if nothing had happened.

“Um. I, uh, I guess so,” said Tony, rattled.

“Okay, this is probably going to amount to a lot of back and forth because I don’t want this in court. And like I said, defamation is hard to prove so I doubt Killian’s lawyers will want to try. He’ll get tired of all the effort.” And when Tony frowned, “Is my guess.”

She leaned back in her chair. “Just, don’t ask me to countersue okay? I could justify it, but we’d just look like the big corporate assholes picking on the small time lawyers and then Loki would be mad at me. That and while you seem like enough of an ass for Pepper to be justifiably worried, the current financial damage to Stark Industries is about…” She looked at her file. “Look at that, sixteen thousand dollars. And to be honest, I'd find crediting that to this suit a stretch.” She grinned at him, resting her chin on her hand. “How much do you want to bet that Killian will ask you for more than that?”

“I got you for sixteen thousand dollars.”

“Deal,” Romanoff said. Before her eyes wandered to somewhere behind Tony’s head.

Tony turned around. With all the damn glass walls he could catch part of the reception, where Loki was just visible. He seemed to be looking down at his phone. Tony couldn’t see his expression, but from what little Tony knew of the man he doubted that would tell him much anyway.

Focusing on Loki meant that Tony missed Barton approaching. When the man burst through the side door of Romanoff’s office, Tony jumped more than he was happy with.

“Loki’s looking bored in reception,” Barton said instantly - eyes on Natasha without so much as a glance in Tony's direction. “What did you do to him?”

“Nothing. He's still being harassed.”

“What? By Thor?”

“Take a guess, Clint.”

“Yeah, well, his emotionless act is turning reception gray and we only just had the damn place repainted, so.” He sighed deeply. “You know what, forget it. I get to see Thor on Tuesdays anyway. I don’t need to get Loki to grow up.”

“Mm, because Thor’s always so mature,” muttered Romanoff, and shit but Tony felt like he shouldn’t be there at that moment. “It’ll be okay, Clint.”

“You’re the one who was worried about him. Just saying.” Clint made to close the door, then stopped in his tracks. “You know I almost miss his little temper tantrums.” He sighed again, and suddenly met Tony’s eyes. “Shit. Sorry, Mr. Stark. Didn’t see you there.”

“Ah don’t worry about it,” Tony said. “I can see how you could miss a guy. What with all these glass walls everywhere.” He tapped the glass behind him twice, looking through it as he did so. Loki was no longer there.

“Mm. Yeah,” said Barton, apparently distracted. He almost got out of the room, then turned back to Tony and said, “You first came in here on a damn weekend, I hope you remember. Before we were keeping rich guys like you happy I could refuse to do that.”

“Rich guys like me are the worst. I'm sure as a minimum wage corporate lawyer you have to hate us.”

“Now and forever,” said Clint with a smile before finally finishing his exit.

“Well,” said Tony. He carried out a little drum solo against his legs. “This is fun. Not at all uncomfortable.”

“I’m sorry, Tony, I didn’t expect this.” Romanoff rearranged some files on her desk, seemingly pointlessly. “Loki’s not an honest person, you know. That’s why we’re friends.”

“Like I said. This is real fun.”

“It’s okay, Tony. Go do … Whatever it is you do when an employed adult like yourself is meant to be working.”

“Self-employed doesn’t count,” said Tony. He stuck out a tongue. Because putting out this awkward situation with dumb non-humor seemed like the way to go.

“Then what the hell am I doing here?” said Romanoff to her desk. She nodded towards the door. “Go on. I’ll call you if I need you for anything.”

“You sure?”

“I am,” said Romanoff. “This meeting is only going to go anywhere if Loki comes back. And he won’t. I threw it away when I told him to leave.”

“Yeah. Uh. Sure. Okay.”

The air was still thick with … with weird. Despite asking if Romanoff was sure he could leave Tony was ready to get the hell out of there.

Once he was out of the office, the atmosphere did feel better. Not lighter - this was still lawyer territory after all - but better. Sure he still had a loosely calculated day plan that would actually take about six days and, oh, two point six million dollars to complete but fuck it. He could get there.

And then it turned out that Loki was still in reception.

He was sitting on one of the chairs by the wall, well out of view of anywhere in Romanoff’s office, with yet again an unreadable expression as he tapped his phone against his hand.

Tony watched him for a few seconds. He seemed quite calm, nothing in his body language to suggest that he was unsettled. And yet Tony knew that Loki wasn’t okay. He hadn’t exactly forgotten how that meeting crashed. So...

Damn it. And the elevator was right there, too.

Loki didn’t acknowledge Tony as he sat down beside him. He just kept tapping the phone against his hand as Tony watched him, again and again until it buzzed and he froze. Just for a second. Barely giving himself away.

Again, Tony thought, the elevator was right there. He doubted that Loki would bring this up when they next had to see each other.

“My apologies, Mr. Stark,” Loki murmured.

“It’s, uh, it’s okay.” To be honest, Tony wasn’t entirely sure what precisely Loki was apologizing for. He had no idea what the hell he was meant to say. But he didn’t want to bail, all of a sudden. This situation felt off.

“Is it your brother?” Tony asked.

“No. My father.” Loki turned to Tony and smiled. “He would appreciate it if I might take the time to speak with him.”

There was a bitterly delivered quote hidden behind that casual tone of voice. Tony knew it. Even if he didn’t know Loki.

“Are you going to?” asked Tony.

“Not just now.” He held up the phone. “He has said much of what he needs to.”

“Ah. I get it.” Tony fell back in his seat. “I mean. I do. Dads can be assholes.”

“In my experience, that it is often so.”

“Yeah.” Tony laughed. “Well, this has been fun, huh?”

“Oh yes, Mr. Stark." A moment's pause. “If Natasha or myself have to ask you for anything before your interview, or next visit here, will you acquiesce?”

“Aye aye,” said Tony with a salute.

“Thank you,” said Loki, voice bright. “I will call regarding your interview.”

“You have my number.”

“And you mine.”

With that, Loki stood. He still seemed calm. He slipped his phone into his pocket and made to leave.

But Tony still sensed that atmosphere. He had learned nothing real about what was bothering the man. He had deflected. Moved on. Given Loki a chance to take that speedy exit that Tony himself had tried to avoid making. And that didn’t feel right.

Without thinking, Tony grabbed Loki’s wrist to stop him and asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

Loki looked to where Tony was holding his wrist, then made eye contact. “I am, Mr. Stark.” His voice was firmer than Tony had heard it be so far. “Thank you.”

“Alright.” Tony let go of Loki’s wrist. And though it was really odd and he had no clue why he did it, patted the man’s forearm twice. Gently. “Dads can be assholes.”

Loki nodded. Then suddenly, “Did you look online as I recommended?”

“Oh.” Shit. “No. Totally slipped my mind. I mean I was going to yesterday, but then my friend distracted me with something.”

Fucking Brucie.

“That's quite alright, Mr. Stark. But try to do so, when you have a moment. It certainly paints a picture. I  ... noticed certain posts which might be if particular interest to you.”

Tony frowned. “What?”

“Posts by a Colonel J. Rhodes, I believe,” said Loki. “That man is publicly a friend of yours, no?”

Tony's blood turned to ice. He could feel his expression giving him away. Loki had to see it.

“Worry not, Mr. Stark. I'd not pry into your personal life unnecessarily. And he has said nothing drastic. But, please, do have a look.”

“Yeah of course. I’ll be sure to do that.” Tony, surprising himself, wanted to press further about what was going on and how Loki was. But even he felt he should have the sense here not to make that risk. “See you soon, I guess.”

Loki nodded in farewell and made for the elevator. Another man did the same. Loki gave him a courteous nod with this plastic smile on his face like nothing in the world was troubling him.

Realizing that his hand was still hovering where it had grabbed Loki’s wrist, Tony clicked his tongue and let it drop to his side.

x-x-x

[From: Madame Potts  
12:14

 _How was your meeting this morning?_ ]

[To: Madame Potts  
12:15

 _Ah, it was just fine. Lawyers and shit. One pane of glass for every soul sold. You know the deal._ ]

[To: Madame Potts  
12:16

 _Actually no. It was fucking weird. Your new best friend Loki had a texting situation and left. It was actually pretty intense. I was on the edge of my seat._ ]

[From: Madame Potts  
12:20

 _Oh, was he okay?_ ]

[To: Madame Potts  
12: 28

 _I don’t know Pep. Far as I could tell, he was upset. I checked on him, but he obviously didn’t want to be pushed so guess I don’t know shit._ ]

[From: Madame Potts  
12:29

 _It was sweet of you to check on him, though, Tony._ ]

[To: Madame Potts  
12:29

_Well, you know me Pep. I’m just the natural mom friend._

_Hey, I’m gonna check out #StarkSmackdown tonight for Loki. Should be fun right?_ ]

[From: Madame Potts  
12:31

 _Have fun, Tony._ ]

[To: Madame Potts  
12:31

 _Absolutely will do ma’am._ ]

[From: Bruce

13:01

 _Guess who didn’t get that job he applied for? :’)_ ]

[To: Bruce  
13:02

 _Shit Bruce I’m sorry. Wanna barge into my lab and help me with this catapult I’m working on? It flings toast. For science._ ]

[From: Bruce  
13:03

 _I’ll be there in 30._ ]

[To: Bruce  
13:04

 _My heart aches to see you, my love._ ]

[To: Bruce  
13:04

 _Now have you reconsidered lying on your resume?_ ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! I don't bite, so if you need to you can hit me up on Tumblr (I'm librariankiss over there too) if you need to yell at me about anything. And if you're wondering about the chapter title, it's a reference that I explained to one person. I'm so good at naming chapters.
> 
> Spoiler for the next chapter: late night texting.


	4. Like and Repost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony spends some time searching through Twitter-but-not-Twitter. And late night texting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter but it's sort of an interlude as the original Chapter 4 overran length wise so I chose to split it. It's a fun one though, lots of jokes and cute interaction, so I hope you enjoy it! It's not going to be cute and fluffy forever.
> 
> As usual, thanks to my beta! They're the best. x

Guessing that Tony would check only the hashtag, avoiding the deeper detail of the message board, Loki decided to take another look at what such posts had to offer—after, of course, checking what Tony had posted recently.

 

 **Tony Stark** @RoboticWunderkind  
_Guess which jackass will be appearing on_ @The16thWallOfficial _? That’s right,_ @JustWilson _gets to interrogate me. Sorry in advance America._

 

 **Dr. Aldrich Killian** @therealaldrichkillian   
_As I've said before, I will not be making any comments about a legal case currently in progress._

 **Dr. Aldrich Killian** @therealaldrichkillian  
_Initially, I was not supposed to be in New York this long. Things have gotten out of hand._

 **Dr. Aldrich Killian** @therealaldrichkillian  
_Would people mind no longer linking me to the Stark Smackdown video? It isn’t funny and never has been._

 **Dr. Aldrich Killian** @therealaldrichkillian  
_This afternoon I was in Hell’s Kitchen when just a month ago I was planning on meeting_ @drpymtech _for the first time today._

 

 **S. Lang** @BigTinyDude  
_You know, I always thought this guy would get sued for something like this eventually. Dammit, Stark. #StarkSmackdown #NeverTrustAStark_

 **S. Lang** @BigTinyDude  
_Hey_ @drpymtech _!! #NeverTrustAStark ! You’ve seen the #StarkSmackdown video right?_

 **Hank Pym** @drpymtech  
_Go home Scott, before I drag you back myself._ @BigTinyDude

 **S. Lang** @BigTinyDude  
_I’ve been publicly shamed by_ @drpymtech _so I’m just gonna head home and drink some tea … #StarkSmackdown #NeverTrustAStark_

 **Hank Pym** @drpymtech  
_Why have I been asked about #StarkSmackdown? I have nothing to do with Mr. Stark, and I missed my recent chance to meet Dr. Killian._

 

 **harley** @mrmotormouth  
_ok everyone needs to calm down about #starksmackdown. people say dumb stuff. isn’t there stuff more important to worry about?_

 

Pietro M. reposted  
**Dr. Aldrich Killian** @therealaldrichkillian  
_As I've said before, I will not be making any comments about a legal case currently in progress._

Wanda M. reposted  
**Dr. Aldrich Killian** @therealaldrichkillian  
_As I've said before, I will not be making any comments about a legal case currently in progress._

 **Pietro M.** @quicksilver  
_We all know that_ @RoboticWunderkind _is called the merchant of death for a reason. What did we expect from him? #StarkSmackdown_

 **Wanda M.** @scarletwitch  
_What_ @RoboticWunderkind _said about_ @therealaldrichkillian _with no remorse is all the proof you need.  #StarkSmackdown_

Pietro M. reposted  
**J.** **Rhodes** @WarFaxMachine  
_Oh my fuck I have been linked to this #StarkSmackdown shit too many times I am losing it._

 

 **J. Rhodes** @WarFaxMachine  
_Color me surprised. “ #StarkSmackdown “_

 **S. Lang** @TinyBigDude  
@WarFaxMachine _Never trust a Stark, man._

  

x-x-x

 

[From: Tony ;)  
20:38

 _So, I had a bit of a look. I was right. It was a party._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:45

 _I hardly imagined that you would enjoy it, Mr. Stark._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:46

 _Eh it’s only the internet. Even my ego don’t bruise that easy._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:46

 _So you do have an account right? That’s how you did all your, I dunno, recon?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:50

 _Under no screen name which you would recognize._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:52

 _Is that a challenge, Laufeyson?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:52

 _Don’t you dare answer that, kay? Coz it was a fucking challenge._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:59

 _Very well, Mr. Stark._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
21:01

 _Yeah. Well. I’ll get to you when I’ve got your user, Mr. Image Consultant._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
21:05

 _I wait with baited breath._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
21:06

 _Now there’s never a need for sarcasm like that, Loki._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
21:06

 _You don’t have to answer that._ ]

 

x-x-x

 

 **Tony Stark** @RoboticWunderkind  
_My fetish is sweet potatoes._

[To: Tony ;)  
01:17

 _Mr Stark, might there be an explanation as to why you posted “my fetish is sweet potatoes” three minutes ago?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:21

_Oh yeah. That. Bruce - you remember my friend Bruce? - was kind enough to help me scout out your account. But he got hold of my password with his nerd magic. And don’t worry image consultant guy, it’s getting deleted._

_I take it you didn’t interact with it then?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
01:21

 _Of course not_.]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:22

 _This would be a lot easier if you were dumb. Like me!_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:22

 _You know, I don’t think I liked that you knew I’d still be awake._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
01:22

 _Should I apologize again?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:23

 _Haha._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:24

 _See I didn’t get my nerd magic textbook in the mail when I was a kid so I can’t just guess shit like that. I have to break in big time like a real hacker._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:24

 _Ew, I just called myself a hacker. That isn’t sexy._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:24

 _Not that I was trying to be. I’m just tired._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:25

 _Also, Bruce isn’t normally like that. He’s more together than anyone who doesn’t like him gives him credit for._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:25

 _It’s a high thing. I think it’s a high thing. In a call with the guy right now and I’m like, 84% sure it’s a high thing_.]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:26

 _I think I made the Bruce is a stoner joke to him already though so I wouldn’t wanna repeat it aloud. But I’m not saying that he DOESN’T seem like the kinda guy who would secretly get high._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:26

 _But not in a keep this guy away from your children way or anything. Bruce is a good guy._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:28

 _Hey so do you actually follow me or?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
01:29

 _And in what order would you like me to address those points, Mr. Stark?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:30

 _A numbered list would be real helpful. Thanks._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
01:32

 _Very well, Mr. Stark._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
01:39

__1\. Yes, I do recall your friend Dr. Banner._ _

_2\. Thank you, although the attention the post gained in the short time it was up is quite remarkable._

_3\. I received mine … although twelve pages are dedicated to nothing but poorly delivered humor. And my brother tried - and spectacularly failed - to steal it._

_4\. I will choose to forgive your discretion if it pleases you, and we can agree that the word was never typed by your hands._

_5\. No comment re: “sexy.”_

_6\. I have no doubt that Dr. Banner is of impeccable character._

_7\. I have not been following you since the moment you announced your quest to locate me._ ]

 

[From: Tony ;)  
01:44

_Nice list there Loki. I’m impressed. Although to be honest also a little unnerved because I honest to god can’t tell how much of that was a joke. Or if you’re even capable of joking, what with that uh, stoicism of yours._

_Hope it was a joke, though. I’d like to think you’ve got a sense of humor buried in there_. _It’d be a real shame if Noonian Soong left out your emotion chip._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:44

 _Although now that I think about it that might explain a lot._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:45

 _But why do I get no comment re “sexy.”_ ]

{To: Tony ;)  
01:45

 _No comment re “sexy,” Mr. Stark._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:46

 _Ok ok. Well uh looks like Bruce is abandoning me and I have a thing to be at tomorrow. But mark my words, I’ll find your account._ ]

 _Night._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
01:46

 _Goodnight, Mr. Stark._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:47

 _Did that feel weird to you? It felt weird to me. But shit. I see the time. I’ll leave you alone._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
01:58

_So about you having, you know, a brother and a father and everything..._

_This means that you didn't just spring up out of a hole in the ground as a perfectly dressed adult doesn’t it? Or did you guys all spring up out of a_

_Wait no I dropped my you're an android joke shit._ ]

 

x-x-x

 

 **The Sixteenth Wall** @The16thWallOfficial  
@RoboticWunderkind _We broadcast in the UK too! Good luck, wunderkind._

 **Why Am I Here** @JustWilson  
_Just so you beautiful people know_ @RoboticWunderkind _isn’t getting out of this alive. I have my methods._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, the next chapter is longer and has much more ... plot stuff. I hope you enjoyed this shorter chapter, though! :)
> 
> And thanks as usual for all your kudos and comments and to those who interact with and message me on Tumblr. I've said it before but you guys honestly give me life.


	5. Children and Other Innocence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's Asgard without drama? And who's Tony Stark without flirting?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness guys, I need to remind you that you're all amazing. Thank you all so much for all of your amazing interaction and feedback, both on here and on Tumblr. You guys honestly keep me going, and every comment and message really motivate me to keep writing this. Thank you all so much.
> 
> And, of course, thanks as always to my amazing beta, A, for putting up with me and for giving me amazing feedback. I can report that I singlehandedly made them ship FrostIron. And of that I am proud.
> 
> The chapter title is a terrible not at all clever play on "children and other innocents" because I rule at chapter titles, kay? *awkward finger guns*

En route to his office in the Asgard Group building, Loki deleted all texts from Odin. One by one, (carefully, etc) reading each one first. He ruled it to be out of an idle compulsion more than anything.

There was a reminder of the visit to the Barton household the previous day, which seemed more than anything to be a way to start a conversation, as this at nothing to do with Loki anymore. There was also a recap of all the changes that would be happening at the Asgard Group offices in the coming weeks. Odin remained informed about his old business despite being - on paper - retired from working with them. Lastly, Odin had sent many requests (phrased differently and disguised by a different topic each time) that Loki meet him at his office to discuss business.

It was always business.

At the office door, Loki returned his phone to his pocket. But, as he was about to remove his key, he froze.

The door should be locked, the office empty, yet Loki could hear music coming through the door. But barely; just a few steps back, it had been inaudible. Certainly, Loki hoped that there was music. It was more than once that people had accused Loki of imagining things.

This time, however, it seemed that he wasn’t. His office was indeed unlocked and opened without protest. The music's volume increased. Pop music. Loki did not recognize the song, but he was considering taking the pen from his coat pocket and inelegantly removing his eardrums.

Loki let the door shut behind him. He did not take one step beyond that. He had already guessed who might be in his office (unlikely as it was, who else?) but now that he knew for certain, he was exercising caution.

The uninvited guest was sitting on the couch in the corner of the room. It was a child, a month older than Cooper Barton and, Loki knew, humiliated to be shorter by several inches. He was scribbling something away on a sheet of paper that had clearly seen better days. A book plucked from Loki’s shelf was the paper’s support. The music came from a phone, which sat with him on the couch. The boy looked up as the door clicked shut, a look of dead seriousness upon his face that once upon a time might have been funny.

The boy put his paper and book on the floor, looking as if he had been caught breaking a house rule and was fearful of parental punishment. As if Loki still had the right for such a thing. The reality was that Loki recognized it from general existence, not from seeing it a great many times on this child’s face.

He didn't seem as if he feared he was in any danger. More, he seemed shy. Loki was not someone you were at risk for being near. He was closer in comparison to a grandparent or distant relative one hardly visited, whose hugs made one stiffen as their unfamiliar smell overpowered all.

“Hi, Dad,” the boy said.

“Vali,” Loki managed. Pitiful. “Shouldn't you be at school?”

Vali shrugged. “Jane said it was a … mental health day. She said I needed it, but we had to come here to get something from Uncle Thor’s office.”

“Right.”

“Are you going to tell Jane that I’m here?”

Loki pressed his hands together and cleared his throat. “What do you think I'm going to have to do, Vali?”

Vali didn’t answer. Instead, he picked the paper and book up off the floor and returned to his scribbling.

For a time, Loki just stood. It was almost as if he felt nothing about seeing Vali here unexpectedly. As if seeing his son was an everyday occurrence. And, of course, it was not.

Vali said he had come here with Jane to collect something from Thor’s office. If that were the case, it was no surprise it was with Jane. Loki knew that she and Vali now spent a considerable amount of time together, and on top of that, Thor had been avoiding these offices since Odin recommended that he seek employment outside of the Asgard Group.

What could there be to collect from Thor’s office?

“I’m doing homework anyway,” Vali mumbled. “It’s not like I’m just … skipping school.” He looked up. “Is it true that you don’t own a TV? There’s one in your room at home.”

“Vali.” That should be enough. Vali would catch the meaning.

“I know I’m not supposed to be in here, but I got scared,” Vali said. “Jane says I imagine it but every time I’ve come here the people have looked at me funny and…” He visibly tensed. “And it’s not like you’ve never done something like this. Hiding, I mean.”

“It’s alright, Vali,” said Loki gently.  “I understand.”

Vali nodded.

Loki did understand. Now that Vali had said mentioned Jane, he also recognized the phone which the boy had been using to play music. Loki’s memory was sharp enough to connect that phone to someone.

Vali seemed to notice where Loki was looking, and said, “Jane said I could use it, okay?”

“Mm. Would you mind turning it off?”

Vali shrugged and muttered, “Okay,” before leaning down and doing so. He looked less than happy about it.

“I do recognize that this is the end of the world,” said Loki, “ but could you wait here a moment?”

Vali only frowned at him. Loki ignored this - it was nothing outside of the norm, after all - and reopened his office door. Even as he did so, his phone beeped in his pocket. Given his changed phone number, any text was only likely to be from a handful of people. And, sure enough, the name “Tony ;)” was on Loki’s screen. Loki chose to ignore it in favor of waiting for the inevitable arrival of Dr. Jane Foster. Surely, the woman would not take too long to work out that Vali would seek out his father’s office.

But a few minutes later, Loki saw Jane Foster approaching the office with an earnestness which would offend Natasha’s carefully kept decorum. Loki shut the door on Vali to provide the privacy that Jane would have asked for anyway. He did, however, keep his hand firmly on the door handle, and his grip on it only tightened when he saw the interim leader of the Asgard Group, Heimdall himself, appear at the entrance to this pitiful reception area.

Jane stopped a few feet away from Loki. She looked distinctly uncomfortable but kept up a smile.

“Good morning, Dr. Foster,” said Loki brightly.

Jane’s smile widened. “Uh. Hi, Loki.” She nodded towards the door. “Is Vali in there?”

“He is.”

“I should have known.” Jane sighed. “I’m sorry, I can’t imagine that you wanted a kid in your office with no warning. Even if he is…” She trailed off and seemed to rethink her direction. “And hey, I know we didn’t get on at first, but I think at this point we’re stuck with each other. I think you should be calling me Jane, don’t you?”

“I suppose I do.”

“I didn’t expect him to just run off like that when we got here. I really am sorry. To be honest, if it were up to me, we would have warned you about coming in beforehand. I couldn’t get hold of you.”

Loki nodded, slowly. Kept his eyes on the man still standing what seemed just out of earshot.

“I changed my number. Just recently,” Loki said. “Odin has it.”

“Oh, okay,” said Jane. “Thor doesn’t.”

Loki had to admit it, if just to himself. Jane was good at this. He took a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. She smiled in way of thanks.

Jane sighed and went to take a seat on one of the couches. She kept eye contact with Loki consistently, however, almost as if she were staring him down.

“Am I permitted to know what’s going on?” Loki pushed himself off the door. “Jane.”

Jane nodded. “Yeah, yeah of course.” Her voice sounded … undeniably kind. “Honestly, Vali just seemed really upset and stressed today so Frigga and I wanted him to have just, just a day off. He still went to the Bartons’ yesterday, and he’ll be back at school tomorrow. It just seemed like sending him in today would upset him too much.”

Loki nodded. Again his gaze moved for a moment to the man in the entranceway, but he could not keep it there long. Instead, he left the door and took a seat next to Jane. She had no reaction to him being mere inches away. A good sign, all things considered. Their one man audience took a good few steps forward. Loki almost let himself frown but made the effort to keep his face blank. This was interesting.

Loki cleared his throat and offered the man a smile. “Are you alright, Heimdall?

“I am, thank you. Loki's smile was noticeably unreturned. “Did you just get in?”

“I had another matter to attend to.” Said matter being that he had lacked the heart to get out of bed.

“Ah, well, in that case. ” Heimdall's eyes flitted towards Loki's office door. I should check on Vali if I may.”

Loki didn't answer. It wasn't his right.

“Go ahead,” Jane said with a smile.

Heimdall nodded and was soon gone. Loki turned his attention back to Jane and again elected to stay silent.

The truth was that he had little idea of the best way to behave around Jane. Initially, she had made her distaste for Loki public, but this had been when Loki still lived with his adoptive family – and when he and Thor were still launching feuds over every petty disagreement. Once that had died down, and Loki and Thor’s relationship became civil if strained almost to breaking point, Jane’s attitude had changed completely. It was not, however, modified in a way which made her opinion of Loki entirely clear. In fact, her opinion seemed to change with the wind.

“Everyone was busy, so I had to bring him here. He likes to tell me that Cooper brags about being left on his own, but you know as well as I do that Laura would never. I think he just wants to be the isolated type.” She looked for a moment like she was about to take Loki’s hand. Her tone was still full of understanding. “Like his dad.”

Loki said nothing.

“I mean he’s …” She took a breath. “He’s been like that as long as I’ve been living there.”

Again, Loki said nothing.

Jane looked for a moment at the door to Loki’s office. “Odin and Thor had a fight today.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Yeah, they were fighting about … I think it was about dish soap. But it wasn’t about dish soap.” Another deep breath. “Thor was upset yesterday as well. I don’t know. I just … Not so long ago I’d have said that you have no idea what the tension is like back there, but now I’m starting to feel like that tension is why you left, right?”

“Well, I—”

“That’s alright, you don’t need to answer.” She sounded kind again. “But Thor and your father … they’ve been fighting a lot recently. And Odin always seems calm, but…”

Loki nodded. He knew.

“Okay.” A deep breath. “Thor’s been on edge since you moved out. And I’m not saying that you had no right to move out,” she added quickly, oh so diplomatic of her, “but I think he just worries about you a lot. You know how he is. And to be honest, I don’t know what triggered it, but they’ve been at each other’s throats recently. You know, as much as Odin will lose his composure.”

“Mm.” Loki couldn’t stop his jaw from clenching.

“Anyway!” Jane’s tone had brightened. “That fight is what upset Vali, and it’s why he’s not going to school today. Ideally, I wouldn’t have brought him here either, but there’s still a lot of stuff in Thor’s office that Thor wanted taking home.”

She stood, and smiled again at Loki. “I’ll take Vali now, and we’ll get what we came for and leave.”

Loki nodded. “Alright.”

“Again, I’m sorry. I should have known he’d come down here.”

With that, she turned and went to the office. Loki made no move to follow her at first, merely watched as she went inside. It was only when she took some time to re-emerge that he went into the office after her.

Inside, Jane was returning Loki’s book to his shelf while Vali inspected that piece of paper of his carefully. His attention seemed to be on the reverse of what the page. Heimdall appeared to be investigating the contents of Loki’s desk … almost subtly.

“Hey, Dad, check this out,” said Vali. This was the only thing that alerted Jane to Loki’s presence. He held up his paper. “I got bored, so I drew Uncle Thor.”

Loki nodded. “Well, that is …” He frowned at the drawing. “Violent.”

Jane laughed. “You’re not wrong. You should see the ones that he drew of his teachers.” She looked Loki in the eye. “You know, back home.”

Jane Foster really was very good.

Heimdall rearranged some of the papers on Loki’s desk. “Am I to understand that Odin has no idea you two visited our building today?”

“Does … anybody want him to?” Jane asked.

Vali frowned at Heimdall. “Are you gonna tell? I know I’m not supposed to see my dad without permission, but…”

“He won’t tell,” said Jane firmly. “And don’t worry. Your dad won’t either.”

Loki nodded, once. “I do enjoy a conspiracy.”

He felt nauseated.

“Dad. You should get a TV in here.”

“Duly noted, Your Highness.”

Vali paused for a moment. He then puffed up his chest and said grandly, “Now. There’s no need to be facetious.”

“That’s his impression of his grandpa,” Jane explained.

“Uncle Thor says he just doesn’t like it when I sound like you, and that’s why he says stuff like that to me,” Vali murmured, folding up his drawing into an uneven paper plane. “Uh, but Uncle Thor doesn’t know I heard him say that … I just listened in. And I only told Cooper, I swear!” He threw the plane limply across the coffee table. “I listened so I’d know. I like knowing. Don’t like people shutting the door on me.”

“Like father like son,” Jane said. She looked in turn to both Heimdall and Loki, then folded her arms and smiled at Vali. “Come on, you. We want to get you home soon, okay?”

“Okay,” sad Vali forlornly. He got up off the couch and looked at his father. “See you later, Dad.”

“Have a good day, Vali,” Loki said. He spoke in a purposefully stilted fashion and stepped away and against the wall as Vali went for the door. He had to create the right impression.

Jane shook Heimdall’s hand and exchanged a bright and friendly farewell with him. After following Vali to the door (Loki pointedly resisting the urge to press himself further against the wall) she placed a hand on Vali’s shoulder. Loki could tell that it was an act of encouragement.

“Goodbye, Heimdall,” Vali muttered.

Heimdall smiled. “Goodbye.”

Jane cocked her head as if asking her question.

“Oh,” said Heimdall, “I have something to discuss with Loki.”

“Okay.” Jane gave Loki a smile which, once again, appeared genuinely kind. “I hope I can call you if need be.”

Loki nodded. It was the obligation. And once he had, Jane led Vali out of the room and shut the door behind them.

Loki turned to Heimdall. “Can I help you with anything, Heimdall?”

Heimdall looked again at Loki’s desk, and once again began rearranging the papers there. “Is any of this at all to do with crisis consultant work?”

“I doubt it.”

Loki crossed the room, which meant having to walk past Heimdall, and took off his coat. He hung it over the back of his chair and took a seat at his desk, making sure that his phone was placed on the desk’s surface. Just in case. Heimdall remained where he was. Standing.

“How do you feel?” Heimdall asked.

Loki almost clenched his jaw again but made himself remain neutral. “Why do you ask?”

Heimdall was clearly unimpressed. “Now, Loki, it must have been some time since you last saw your son, yes?”

Loki swallowed. “Several weeks.”

Heimdall gestured towards the chair across from Loki. “May I?”

“By all means.”

Heimdall took his seat. “That rule that Vali is not to visit without permission … is that his grandfather’s rule? Or his father’s?”

Loki smiled and leaned back in his seat. “What is it that you wished to discuss?”

“Yes.” He seemed happy enough to move on. But then, he had already made his point. “You are still working with Stark Industries, yes?”

Loki almost laughed. In truth, Heimdall asking this was inevitable. Loki was able to work out of this Asgard Group building purely because of a personal favor. A personal favor which was down to Odin.

In the time which Odin had spent no longer as an owner of multiple businesses but as – much to Loki’s chagrin, and quite the amusing factoid to Clint Barton – District Attorney of all things, the threads holding together that arrangement had frayed. Loki’s current situation with Odin, Frigga, and Thor did nothing to help that, and he and Heimdall were hardly friends.

As such, as Heimdall oversaw the Asgard Group he had decided to question every client Loki had. However, Loki’s work was … scant. Heimdall had little to challenge.

“I am continuing to work with Mr. Stark, yes,” said Loki, answering two questions for Heimdall at once.

Heimdall knew the news climate inside out. He was not happy having Tony Stark’s name anywhere near that of business under the Asgard Group umbrella. He had openly disagreed with Loki’s decision to help Stark, even if Loki had agreed solely because Natasha (who had picked up on his waning business, and was helping without stating that she was helping) had suggested so. Heimdall was decidedly unhappy with the situation.

And Loki had never wanted to keep a client more.

“Mm…” Heimdall adjusted the clock which was sitting on Loki’s desk. “You understand my concern, though, I hope.”

“I am a crisis consultant,” said Loki. He couldn’t help but frown. “The people I work with are often in … crisis. And in all honesty, Mr. Stark’s current problem is a minor one. And this is especially by the standards of Stark Industries.”

Heimdall raised his eyebrows. “Would you say that in front of anyone else?”

“In front of none who would repeat it.”

“As I say, Loki, it is your business. But I do worry.”

“And what do you worry about, Heimdall?” Loki asked sweetly.

“That.” A pause. “Among other things.”

Loki leaned forwards and moved his clock back to its original position. “Such as?”

“Is Mr. Stark the only client you have worked with since…” He trailed off there, as the rest of the question held … something of a dramatic weight which Odin had declared best avoided. Regardless, Loki knew what he was acting.

“The only other person I have worked with recently is Captain Rogers. That was minor consultant work.” He was avoiding Sergeant Barnes’ name, but the meaning would be caught.

“Yes, I thought so. A favor for your friend, Miss Romanoff?”

“Miss Romanoff is friends with the man for whom Captain Rogers has been concerned. I offered advice on a number of occasions.”

“At a fee?”

“Of course.”

A small fee which Natasha had paid to him. She had refused to take no for an answer. Loki had done his best to downplay it, however, especially given that neither Rogers, nor Natasha’s friend, were able to offer any money. As members of the NYPD, to offer funds for such services would be ill advised. 

“You’ll forgive me if I appear to be prying, I hope,” said Heimdall. Recently, he had been speaking to Loki in such a stilted manner. As if they barely knew each other. Perhaps it was just a response to Loki doing the same - and in his case, to everyone. He looked away for a moment, attempting to try and add subtlety to a change of subject. “Are you still living in the same apartment?”

“Yes,” said Loki.

“Ah. I know that building. Another acquaintance lives there.” He smiled. “I imagine that the rent must be rather steep.”

“I manage.”

“Oh of course. You would have to.” He chuckled. “I do hope you aren’t overcharging Mr. Stark simply because he is wealthy.”

Loki laughed. “Now, that would be unethical.”

“I know.”

That feeling of nausea worsened.

“Vali was telling me in Thor’s office about how he’s not been able to visit your home for months now. It really is a shame.”

Loki’s jaw clenched automatically. He couldn’t help it. And when he spoke, it was in a dark tone.

“Are you not repeating an old point now, Heimdall?”

For but a moment there was a flash of something in Heimdall’s eyes. He was surprised. Nothing he had said had elicited any such reaction from Loki in months. Loki, too, was taken aback by his own actions. It was true, yes, that Heimdall hadn’t said anything about Vali recently, but slips such as that should be avoided. And were it anyone other than Heimdall (or Odin, were Loki at his worst), it would have been avoided.

Loki cleared his throat and smiled, moving on before the new atmosphere had a chance to set in. “As you mentioned Mr. Stark, Heimdall, I do in fact have to call him to update him on something, so.” He cut off pointedly.

Heimdall shrugged. “Do go ahead.”

Loki resisted the nerve to narrow his eyes and picked up his phone. He intended to call Natasha, who would play along if he made up a conversation long enough for Heimdall to decide to leave. However, he saw on the screen the text he had received earlier from Tony Stark, and it prompted to call him. It was Tony Loki would have been pretending to call regardless.

A thought struck Loki. There was some information that he could give. Why make it a charade if that was needless?

After a few rings, Tony answered. “Hey, it’s my image consultant!” He paused for a second. “Did I do something?”

“Hello, Mr. Stark,” he said, making sure to inject a smile into his voice as if he were just positively charmed to hear from the man. “Oh, I don't imagine so. What could you possibly have done?”

Silence for a few seconds, then, “So are you always really sarcastic or do I just bring out the hidden sarcasm in everyone?” Another few seconds silence. “Wait. Really. Do not answer that.”

Loki laughed. He had to progress this as was necessary for Heimdall. “Are you willing to meet before your interview this Saturday night?”

“Uh. Yeah. I thought we’d already established that.”

“Yes, but it pays to be careful.”

“Uh, I guess so.”

“It airs rather late, but to be safe, I should spend at least a couple of hours with you. I could go to you, or you could come here, it depends on - oh. Goodbye, Heimdall.”

It seemed that Heimdall was satisfied. He waved to Loki and left the room. The door shut loudly behind him.

“Forgive me, Mr. Stark.”

“Right.” Tony cleared his throat and caused an awful crackling to sound from the speaker. “Am I allowed to know what that was about? Because I’ve gotta tell you it did not sound natural. And that’s even by your standards.”

“Yes, of course.” Loki scratched his head. “I had to phone a client to get someone to leave my office.”

Tony laughed. “Ah, so really I’m your hero.”

“I’m my own hero, Mr. Stark.”

“Right. Whatever you say.” Muffled by the reception, Loki heard what sounded like something falling to the floor. Stark made no comment on it. “Sorry about that. I built this catapult, right? It flings toast – mainly toast – at this target I set up. But also it falls off the workbench a lot. And that’s cool too, you know?”

“Mm.”

In just a few seconds, Loki’s mind had wandered. He was stuck on Heimdall. Odin. Thor. And, of course, Vali. What Tony had said had only half registered with him. He had called Tony to get Heimdall to leave, and to pass some quick information; he could barely focus on what the man was saying.

Loki was nothing short of affronted that Jane had brought Vali with her. There were many reasons why Loki was away from his son, and surely Odin should have explained them well enough to avoid such situations as today. Vali became nothing but more confused with each short time spent in his father’s presence … and Loki more conflicted. Loki should not have been too stubborn to give Thor his new number. He should not have trusted Odin to just think to provide it on his behalf. He should definitely not have allowed Heimdall to make any remarks that led him closer to the truth. To thinking even less of Loki than he did already, were such a thing possible.

Without even thinking, Loki hung up.

Tony rang back about five seconds later.

“Are you okay, big guy?” Tony asked the second that Loki answered.

“I am.”

“Okay, good. Crap. You had me scared there for a minute. You can't just hang up on a guy like that. It's not cool.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I wasn't accusing you or anything,” Tony assured him, with a tone more gentle than Loki had heard from him yet. “You just kinda freaked me out is all.”

“Again, please forgive me, Mr. Stark.” Loki ran a hand over his face. “I was … distracted.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, yeah.”  The sound of something heavy being dropped onto a surface. “Are you ok? Do you need me to stop bugging you?”

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

“See, that's what I like about you Loki.” Suddenly, there was levity in Tony’s voice. “Real vague answers. A man of mystery and all that. It's hot.” Another loud noise. This one Loki couldn’t place. “You can ignore that. I was just being facetious.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“For letting you ignore it? Or for calling you hot? And keep in mind that if you answer you're forfeiting your right to ignore it.”

Loki considered for a moment.  “Mr. Stark, I just had a discussion with the current head of the Asgard Group. He is questioning my choice to accept you as a client.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

Tony was smart enough to guess that there were politics involved. That much could be picked up on quickly. However, he was also Tony enough to deal with them in no way similar to any tactic of Loki’s. He laughed.

“Aw, the Asgard Group don’t like me?” He sounded almost as if he were taking it as a compliment. Loki liked that.

“They dislike many people.” Although by ‘they,’ Loki did mean a particular elite. “It’s of no consequence. My clientele is my choice.”

“Aww, thanks, Loki,” said Tony, voice sugary sweet. “And you like me too, right?”

“Facetious, Mr. Stark.”

“No. No, that was a genuine question. I was just-” A clattering. “What the fuck was that? - Just wondering, because … Oh hell, I don’t know.” There was a strange series of loud clicking noises. “So, are we good?”

“Could you clarify?”

“Uh … Yeah, guess I have to.” He cleared his throat again. “I get that you were upset yesterday - and you still sound off today like I told you - and I just … I wanted to make sure that me grabbing hold of your arm and getting all intense didn’t, I don’t know. Freak you out.”

Loki took a breath, slowly. “It’s fine, Mr. Stark. I … Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah of course. You were upset, and I’m not … Okay, I am kind of an ass but not all the time. I think.”

Loki chuckled. “The show will do all the necessary makeup,” said Loki with a sigh, “but he is more than content to let one look like a fool, so I will have to do something about the red tie.”

There were several clanging noises before Tony said, “What is it with everyone hating on my red tie?”

“Well, Mr. Stark, you may be a tad too coordinated with the host—”

“—Fucking Wade Wilson.”

“—and it makes you look like a Republican.”

“What?”

“It makes you look like a Republican.”

“Hmm…” Another clanging. “Okay, but what if I am a Republican? Like. Hypothetically.”

“Your political views are irrelevant. Aldrich Killian is Libertarian, and for his last brief televised appearance, he was wearing a yellow tie. If you looked like a Republican, you would appear to be a bully. Regardless, red is too aggressive.”

“You know that all of that was bullshit, right?”

“Let me do my job, Mr. Stark.”

Silence for a few moments.

“Aw,” said Tony, finally. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

Loki fell back in his chair. “Mr. Stark, I could never be.”

“Aww. My hero.” A second. “Wait. No. I’m your hero, remember.”

“I do not.”

There was an odd muffled sound. Loki guessed that it was Tony blowing a raspberry. He almost laughed but decided against it. He had done enough of that for this conversation.

Suddenly, Tony spoke again.

“Hey, I get that your Asgard Group pals don’t like me but … do they like AIM?”

Loki blinked, thinking of the group Killian led. “I never thought to ask.”

“You know, Loki, I’m not having fun with this whole ... thing.”

“I can’t imagine that you would be.”

“You know, Killian never used to be a problem. I mean, yeah, I understand when we met I must’ve pissed him off. See I don’t drip BS politeness like he's hosting a tea party at the family mansion, like some image consultants who shall remain unnamed. But even given that he left me alone. We shared a quip or two when we happened to bump into each other, but that was it. I wouldn’t have said anything that night at all if he wasn't a smug bastard.”

“Mm.” Loki had nothing else to say to that.

“But I'm a good boy, right? Hiding where I can’t cause harm, appearing on TV because you asked me to.”

“Yes. So.” Loki sat up straight and spun his chair to face his bookshelves. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“Saturday. Cool.” Clang. “Oh hey. Did you read my text?”

“Not yet.”

“You should. When you get a minute and all that.”

“Very well, Mr. Stark.”

“And um…” He hesitated. “I know you said you’re okay but … if you’re not, you know where I am. And I promise that I won’t grab your arm without permission on Saturday.”

“Mr. Stark,” said Loki. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, well. I figure I should try and be something of a nice guy, ‘cause if I’m not a nice guy I get sued, and if I get sued then my lawyer makes me hire an image consultant, and you do not want to know how—”

“Mr. Stark.”

“—that turns out. He might be a nice guy and all but what if he pretends he’s not a real boy and—”

“Mr. Stark,” said Loki firmly.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Laufeyson. I’ll see you Saturday.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Stark,” said Loki.

“And there’s my robot. I missed him,” said Tony before he hung up.

Loki dropped his phone onto his desk and turned on his aging computer. Unlike Tony, Miss Potts was not someone Loki wanted to call while she was potentially busy. He would email her instead. He would then, of course, have to text Amora before she decided that Loki was keeping secrets from her. He heard enough suspicion from Heimdall.

****

[From: Tony ;)  
11:13

 _Are you @real_power_?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
12:32

 _Why, Mr. Stark. You found me._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
12:34

 _Fucking told you that I would, Loki. I knew it._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
12:49

_And I am very proud. Well done, Mr. Stark.]_

[From: Tony ;)  
12:50

 _Thank you. Your faith in me is what gets me through._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
12:53

 _Why is your profile picture a reindeer?_ ]

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading! I hope you liked this chapter because, let me tell you, it fought me. And it fought well. I also hope you guys like Vali because he's very precious to me.
> 
> [librariankiss.tumblr.com](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com)


	6. Love and Money

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late night texting, questions of love, and money troubles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funnily enough, this section as it is isn't in the draft that I'm working from. But I've put it in here as its own little interlude because a) I've heard from some of you that you liked the little texts scenes, so here you are, and b) you guys are awesome and deserve an update.
> 
> So, here you go! Of course thanks to you guys for your amazing comments and for being the absolute best.

[From: Tony ;)  
19:19

 _What’s cookin good lookin?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:19

 _Did I actually just read that, Mr. Stark?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:20

 _Yeah … I’m pretty sure I could feel my soul leaving my body as I typed that._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:20

 _Anyway._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:23

 _Did you have a good Friday?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:23

 _I’m sorry?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:24

 _Did you have a good Friday? See Loki, today is Friday, so I’m asking you if you had a good day. It’s called small talk._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:24

 _I’ve been learning about good manners today, you know._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:25

 _Are you being unfaithful, Mr. Stark? If you have another image consultant, the least that you could do is tell me._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:25

 _Oh ha ha. Now who’s facetious?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:27

_No, okay. Pepper had these guys in to talk some of how high up business types, right? And they did this talk about good manners, and the proper way to speak to colleagues and other businesspeople. And she fucking made me sit in the back of the room because APPARENTLY I could “learn something from them” or something. But I think she’s just mad because my catapult’s development is going so well._

_And because I just fucking know you’re going to ask. No, I wasn’t wearing a red tie._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:27

 _Good boy._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:28

_Are you drunk?_

_Anyway. I told you about my day. But I asked about yours first, so. Guess we both have shitty manners.]_

[To: Tony ;)  
19:33

 _Oh, Mr. Stark, I have had fun. I've been on the phone with near my entire family today. Independent of one another. It was bizarre._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:34

 _Yeah … Family can get you. You alright?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:39

 _Apparently, I owe my uncle three thousand dollars._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:40

_Not to be nosy or anything but_

_No okay fuck it. Why the fuck do you owe your uncle $3000?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:41

 _My brother visited me a while ago and managed to dash his brains out going through the kitchen wall. It was my uncle who ended up paying for the damage._ ]

[From Tony ;)  
19:42

 _So your brother managed to do $3000 in damage?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:42

 _It is remarkable what a lacking insurance policy and an unforgiving buildng manager can do when combined into one force._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:43

 _Again, nosy, but. Do you have 3K to just give to your uncle?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19: 43

 _I do, Mr. Stark. Thank you for your concern._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:44

 _Well, yeah. Of course, Loki. Of course._ ]

[To: Not Romanoff  
20:02

 _Forgive me for troubling you at this hour, but could I ask something of you?_ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:04

 _You can cut the BS, Loki. What do you need?_ ]

[To: Not Romanoff  
20:04

 _Forgive me, but, do you happen to have a spare three thousand?_ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:07

 _You do take some liberties, don’t you? And you know when I read that I don’t have to hear it in that polite voice of yours. I can just hear all that smugness and sarcasm we’ve all missed for the last few months._ ]

[To: Not Romanoff  
20:08

 _Barton, I am sorry. It’s for my uncle; I can hardly refuse to pay it. You know I’d not ask if I felt safe going elsewhere._ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:09

 _Sorry my ass. But no, I know. And I know you’re good for it - I mean, when you can be - so I’l help you out. Course I will._ ]

[To: Not Romanoff  
20:09

 _Thank you, Barton._ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:11

 _Right. Whoever said lawyers don’t have souls? But uh, did you not get an upfront fee from whoever handles Stark’s money that you can throw about?_ ]

[To: Not Romanoff  
20:11

 _I did. My rent is, shall we say, excessive._ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:12

 _Well of course it is. Rich kids, I don’t know. And if you remind me that my kids are rich kids I’ll get Natasha to stop speaking to you for a month. I have that power._ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:12

 _But no really, if you need help I’ve got you. Seriously. Your family are all terrifying. All of them._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:12

 _I’m bored. And Bruce has gone all “I’m tired, I need a night in” like an old man, and Pepper says she’s “too busy to deal with me” pffft. Help me, Laufeyson. You’re my only hope._ ]

[To: Not Romanoff  
20:13

 _Thank you, Clint. For everything._ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:15

_Yeah, that I did read in your polite tone. You’re so full of shit, Odinson._

_But like I said. Of course._ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:15

 _I still hate you though._ ]

[To: Not Romanoff  
20:16

 _Likewise._ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:17

 _Call me tomorrow morning, okay? We’ll sort out the details. It’ll be okay._ ]

[To: Not Romanoff  
20:17

 _Thank you for your reassurance._ ]

[From: Not Romanoff  
20:18

_I know that you didn’t want me to read that as sarcastic and that upsets me because of course I did. You’re the wrong person for this nice guy act._

_Have a good night, Loki. I hope you know what you’re gonna do about this money situation of yours._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:20

 _Would you like me to do something about this boredom, Mr. Stark?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:20

 _Send nudes ;)_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:20

 _I will take that red tie of yours and I will strangle you._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:20

 _Now now. I didn’t ask for this to get kinky. That’s twice you’ve gone there tonight. For such a polite man you’re disgusting. (Don’t say you were joking. Won’t accept it. La la la.)_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:20

 _Wait shit that was an actual threat. No more Mr. Nice Loki._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:21

 _You’re right. Forgive me. I’m exhausted._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:21

 _Don’t you dare apologize. That was awesome. And now I think on it, I might’ve noticed that you’re not always the friendliest with me. Is that a thing? Like, a thing?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:22

 _The truth is, Mr. Stark, that my clients are not always best served by politeness. What kind of crisis manager would I be if I allowed good manners to let them grow complacent?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:22

 _Well we’re not talking about crisis management or image consultant shit now, are we?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:23

 _That is true._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:23

 _So are you mean to me because I’m special? Do you not hate me, Loki? Ah shucks, it’s because you like me, isn’t it? Yeah. I bet it’s because you like me._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:23

 _That is quite a ramble for a text message, Mr. Stark._ ]

[From Tony ;)  
20:24

_Pfft fuck you, you love me._

_Tell you what. I’ll ask Bruce. He’ll know whether or not you love me._ ]

 

_Messages between you and @BruceGamma_

BruceGamma: _Do you know why Tony just asked me if you love him?_

real_power_: _Having been privy to the conversation that provides context … I can safely say that I have no idea._

BruceGamma: _Great._

BruceGamma: _Is he bothering you?_

real_power_: _Not at all._

BruceGamma: _Mhm. No offence to you, I mean I’m sure you’re a nice guy and all, but whatever you two do seems to have broken Tony’s brain._

BruceGamma: _So … what should I tell him? I feel okay asking you because I don’t think you’ll mistake me for your therapist. (And btw, I am really not that kind of doctor.)_

real_power_: _Tell him whatever you wish, Dr. Banner._

BruceGamma: _Oh good._

BruceGamma: _I need better friends. Do you know anyone who Tony’s never hit on?_

real_power_: _Let me think._

real_power_: _No one comes to mind._

BruceGamma: _Yeah._

 

[From: Tony ;)

20:31

_Update: Bruce says you love me!_

_And yet you follow him but you won’t follow me. And yeah, don’t think I don’t know he went straight to you with that one. He let it slip. Followed each other since the moment I found your account, he says._

_You guys say you love me, and yet you betray me._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:31

_Excuse me, Mr. Stark. I need to go and stick my head down the toilet.]_

[From: Tony ;)  
20:31

 _See? Sass from Mr. Robot. That’s just proof that you love me._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:31

 _Are you going to ask me if I was dropped on my head as a child?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:32

 _Why would I do that?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:32

 _I dunno. I just get asked that a lot.My buddy Rhodey started it. Asshole._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:34

 _Sorry to love you and leave you (but I mean you clearly love me more, despite your betrayal) but I’ve come over not feeling so great. See you tomorrow._ ]

[To: Tony ;)   
20:34

 _Goodnight, Mr. Stark._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
20:35

 _And uh, hey. Sorry about that money thing. Hope you can sort that out._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
20:35

 _Thank you. As do I._ ]

[To: Odin  
21:17

 _Are you available at any time next week?_ ]

[From: Odin  
21:20

 _Ah, have finally thought through my offer?_ ]

[To: Odin  
21:20

 _I’ve certainly rethought your offer, I have to say._ ]

[From: Odin  
21:27

 _I fear I’m busy for much of the week, but if you could come to my office on Friday, perhaps we can have a real discussion about this, at last._ ]

[To: Odin  
21:27

 _I’ll make note and meet you there._ ]

[From: Odin  
21:33

_Thank you._

_And, Loki? Let’s try to have a civilized conversation for once, shall we?]_

[To: Odin  
21:33

 _Let’s try._ ]

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep it was a shorter one but I hope you guys enjoyed it. Tony's getting to me haha. He's not a co-operative character to write. So, update:
> 
> I've got a longer chapter sent off to my lovely beta (thanks for your help, A!) and I'll work on this fic if I get the time but this month I'm participating in NaNoWriMo again (writing frostiron, because I'm that person) and that will take most of my focus for most of the month. But hey, it'll get me a new frostiron draft so how can I complain? 
> 
> [librariankiss.tumblr.com](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com/)  
> 


	7. Kiss and Tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Loki are helpful - in their own way - and Tony makes a dumb decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Me again. I took a hiatus for NaNoWriMo and the holidays as I said, and I'm afraid it went on a little longer than intended. We all get thrown curveballs sometimes. But I'm back and I've got another chapter of this fic for you! Thank you all so much for your patience, and your support. You guys have been amazing and I don't know if I'd have returned to this fic without you. Thank you all so much. 
> 
> And yes, I've gone for a double meaning in the chapter title again. I have a double meaning problem.

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
14:09

 _I’m in a meeting with a partner of the Asgard Group, but if you wait in my office I will be with you presently._ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
14:10

 _I might’ve told Bruce that he had to come with me. That cool?_ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
14:10

 _We all need our comfort blankets, Mr. Stark._ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
14:10

 _Oh, you’re doing the sarcasm thing again. Cool._ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
14:13

 _No, I wasn’t_. ]

 

It was several hours before the taping of his guest appearance on _The Sixteenth Wall_. Tony lay on the couch in Loki’s office. He had intended to meet Loki in his own office, but in testing out his toast catapult he had rendered it unusable. Well, Pepper had told him to stop acting like a six-year-old and politely instructed him to fuck off.

So Tony found himself on Loki’s couch, messing around on his phone. He had decided to leave the door ajar while he and Bruce waited. This building made him somewhat paranoid. The open door made him feel safer, somehow.

“It’s bullshit anyway,” Tony declared. “Is a toast catapult not a step up from … ?” He sighed and added in a murmur, “It’s just a side project anyway.”

Bruce, who sat perched on the end of an armchair like he thought it might bite him, was not impressed. “Tony, you said that this was important. I canceled a job interview.”

Tony shot upright. “You’ve had a lot of job interviews recently, huh?”

“Yeah, well…” His voice was bitter. “It’s not like I got a glowing recommendation after how I left my last job, is it? And Ross doesn’t even work there anymore!”

“Bruce, you don’t—”

“No. It’s my own fault, right? Anger got the better of me.”

Tony swallowed. “You don’t actually have to be here if you don’t want.”

“It’s okay, really,” said Bruce with a shrug. “Like I said, I canceled that interview.”

“Because I said this was important? Really?” Tony was more than a little surprised to hear that.

Bruce smiled, head ducked. “You’re my friend.”

“Yeah.” A beat. “And, if I’m gonna be honest and all, I did feel like it was important.”

Bruce frowned. “Why’s that?”

“Would you believe me if I said I was nervous?”

Bruce laughed. “Maybe.”

Tony opened his mouth to say something, but … nothing. It took just seconds for Bruce to start looking like the silence was too much. He looked awkwardly around the room.

“This place is … tidy.”

“Yeah, the office of Loki-bot three thousand.” Tony snapped his fingers. “But I say that with nothing but affection!”

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “How much affection?”

“You aren’t my image consultant. Don’t you raise your eyebrow at me.”

Bruce laughed again. Pointed to the bookshelf. “He has one of those bookshelves where all the covers are matching.”

“That’s because he, unlike us my friend, is a sophisticated soul. I mean I bet he doesn’t even own any eBooks.”

Bruce nodded, stood and crossed the room. He started looking over Loki’s collection of leather bound books. Tentative, as if he suspected that Loki might punch him if he saw this.

“So.” Bruce cleared his throat. “You said you were nervous?”

“Yeah. Well. TV appearance.”

“You’ve been on TV before.” Bruce considered for a moment before delicately pulling one of the books off the shelf. “And, not to be an ass, but it’s not usually for a positive reason.”

Tony flopped back on the couch. “S’not very nice.”

“No, really. Are you just getting nervous _now_ , or…” He flipped open the book and looked at a page. “Holy crap, this is a _Doctor Who_ novel.” He shut the book and returned it to the shelf. “Is something bothering you?”

Tony clicked his tongue. “I thought you said you didn’t want me unloading on you like you’re my therapist.”

“So there’s nothing you want to talk about?”

Tony sat up again and swung his legs off the couch. “Like…” He smirked. “If I’ve gotten laid?”

“I thought we agreed that we weren’t going to bring that up.”

“ _We_ never agreed to anything, Brucie.” Tony grinned at his friend. He pulled out his phone, checking his feed for the first time that day.

 

Bruce Banner reposted

 **Why Am I Here** @JustWilson  
_Just so you beautiful people know_ @RoboticWunderkind _isn’t getting out of this alive. I have my methods._

 

Tony laughed. “Oh fuck you, Banner.”

Bruce smiled. “I should throw a party to commemorate you appearing on _The Sixteenth Wall_. Because, you know, I’m proud of you. As your friend.”

“Right. Because I know from experience that you’re really the party type.” Though he and Bruce had met at a party, of course, Bruce clearly hadn't enjoyed it.

“I didn’t say I would be _at_ the party.” Bruce pulled another book off the shelf. “Hey, uh, I should definitely invite Loki. And he would go, too. What with all the uh … flirting.”

Tony balked. “What flirting?”

“Tony, in that call you read every text you sent to him aloud, in case you forgot. You, uh, you kind of were flirting with him.”

“Yeah, you’re full of shit, Banner.” Tony gestured to the book Bruce was holding. “What’s that?”

“Uh…” Bruce pried it open. “Mm-hmm, _A Game of Thrones_. Of course it is.”

“Bet he takes notes,” Tony mumbled.

Bruce returned the book to the shelf. “Okay. Right. No flirting. But you do kind of talk about him a lot—which, I’m sorry, kind of a dead giveaway. And honestly, it doesn't sound like you'd get anywhere. So maybe no flirting is for the best.”

Tony’s jaw dropped. “Did you just say that I couldn’t successfully flirt with Loki? Um, robots need love too, Banner. And I know I told you he seemed all dead inside, but he’s not one hundred percent Terminator okay?”

Bruce frowned. “You’re like a kindergartener who punches his crush on the arm and then runs back to his friends.”

“Yeah. Well.” There was quiet as Tony stared at nothing on his phone. Then, Tony got an alert.

 

 **Bruce Banner** @BruceGamma  
_Fun fact:_ @RoboticWunderkind _inappropriately tries to flirt with consultants and it doesn’t even work._

 

“Damn,” said Tony. “I knew I shouldn’t have given you that promo.”

“You mean the promo that Judge Fury reposted?” As Bruce said that he took the surprisingly bold move of sitting at Loki’s desk. He had three of Loki’s books stacked in front of him and opened one.

“Well,” said Tony, “I—” A thought struck him. “So, wait. You think it wouldn’t work to what extent? Like, if I asked him out he’d politely turn me down? Or do you think it’s more laugh me out of the room territory?”

“Why?” Bruce frowned. “Do you need to know in advance for when you ask him out?”

“Yeah. We’re back to screw you.”

Bruce shook his head and returned to his reading. Tony decided on letting it go. A few moments later he remembered that he had Bruce’s password, and he’d been behaving himself for too long.

 

 **Bruce Banner** @BruceGamma  
_I, Dr. Bruce Banner, retract my previous post. It was misinformation._ @RoboticWunderkind _is a handsome, intelligent wonderful man. The best man I know._

 **Bruce Banner** @BruceGamma  
_And he could definitely get_ @real_power_   _to go out with him if he turned on the charm. Definitely._

 

He switched back to his own account and sat there for a while. Every now and then Bruce would turn a page with audible delicacy.

“When is Killian’s appearance on?” Bruce asked suddenly.

“What?” Tony blinked. “Oh. I guess it’s airing today? Or it was on last night. Who fucking knows.”

“Are you going to watch it?”

There was nothing to say to that.

Tony didn’t hear the door move at all at Loki’s entrance. He just heard, “Good afternoon, Mr. Stark. Dr. Banner,” and nearly jumped out of his skin.

He turned, intending to give Loki his best grin, but stopped when he saw Loki quirking an eyebrow at him. And not looking comfortable in his skin either, all buttoned up and still in an outdoor coat.

“Do I want to know?” Loki asked, raising his phone.

“Probably not.”

“Jesus, Tony.” This from Bruce, prompting Tony to look at him. “Did you have to tag him in it?” He nodded nervously at Loki as if in apology.

Tony had to move on, so, “Are you training me for Wade Wilson?”

“I am.” Loki turned to Bruce with a smile. “Are you content to sit with my books, Dr. Banner?”

“As long as you two are upstairs brains only,” said Bruce. “And, uh, is there a reason why you own three copies of _Mockingjay_?”

Loki nodded once. “Yes.”

Moving swiftly, Loki took off his coat and threw it over the arm of the couch with a carelessness that Tony wouldn’t expect from him. He sat in the chair that he had occupied on Tony’s first visit here.

“So, are you gonna do a Wade Wilson impression?” Tony asked.

“If you like.”

“I would like.”

Loki smiled. “Very well, Mr. Stark.” And then, sounding pretty damn close to the voice of Wade Wilson, “So, Stark. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Shit. That’s a pretty good Wade Wilson.” Tony flicked idly at his leg. “Are you allowed to say that on TV?”

“I’m Wade Wilson. I can say whatever the fuck I want.”

“You swear really well, you know.” Tony almost winked but Bruce was still present. The fucker.

“Thank you.”

“You should do it more. But, you know, in your own voice. It would suit you.”

“Wow.” This, barely audible, was from Bruce.

Loki ignored it and carried on with business. “They will be recording this tonight, but airing on Monday. This gives you a couple days to forget about it, and everyone who cares a couple of days to panic.”

“Aw, you care about me?”

“Mr. Stark.”

“Right. Sorry.” Tony clapped his hands together. “So, teach me something.”

“Mm.” Loki moved a little, settling in his seat. “The problem with Wade Wilson is that he refuses to take what his producers want from him seriously. He never bows to anything. They think him a comedian. I think him childish.”

“Huh?”

Loki took in a pointed breath. “In many ways, Mr. Stark, Wilson is unpredictable. There is no definite template for getting through an interview with him.”

“Katniss, no,” Bruce muttered flatly.

“But,” Loki continued, “you can do it.”

The way he said it was kind. Or, Loki kind, as in something genuine was hidden behind everything else. It wasn’t something Tony had expected. But then, maybe he had imagined it in the first place.

“Wilson’s primary tactic appears to be making his guests uncomfortable. In this state, they tend to provide the material he desires. You’ve seen him, I’m sure. He’s …” Loki considered for a moment. “Abrasive.”

“One way to put it.”

Loki smiled, leaning forwards and resting his elbows on his knees. “We can, at least, doubt that he would find it easy to shake you. I think Natasha’s fear is that you would find it too easy to converse with Wilson. Consequently, you might say something that would make our lives more difficult.”

“Right. Got you. I think.”

Loki looked in Bruce’s direction. “Could I have stated that any clearer, Dr. Banner?”

“I, uh. I knew what you meant.”

“Good.” And, focus back to Tony. “We should be able to guess the sort of things on which Wilson is likely to comment. All you have to do is respond correctly.”

“You know, Loki, I’ve had difficult conversations before and come out alive.”

“Not while Natasha Romanoff has been your legal counsel. I would recommend you don’t upset her.”

“Yeah,” said Tony with a breath of laughter. “Good idea.”

“Wilson never says anything directly, but he does want something. He wants to make you look bad. As far as I can tell, he finds it entertaining. So you have to rise to his mocking enough, but not excessively.”

“Huh?”

“If you go with what he wants from you enough he will be amicable, but too much and you will say the wrong thing. Not to mention that you have a defamation lawsuit on your hands. Be careful, Mr. Stark.”

“Mm-hmm.” Tony nodded.

“The first step, Mr. Stark, is body language.”

And from there continued a lesson. Loki talked him through the proper way to sit with your legs open. There was a real fine line between confident and gorilla, apparently. Also, there was which hand gestures best accented which points. It became a science all of a sudden. And Tony was determined to listen to it all carefully. Even if some of it seemed like bullshit, following the instructions was the best way to avoid pain.

What wasn't so fun was that Tony had to practice said body language, et cetera. At least Bruce was kind enough not to comment and the most that Loki did was quirk an eyebrow. Of course.

“No, but seriously,” said Tony finally, sick of feeling like a clown. “You swore really well in your Wilson voice. I bet you swear better in Loki.”

Bruce coughed.

“Quite, Mr. Stark.” Loki shifted in his seat. “I do make a point of not swearing if I can help it.”

“Why’s that?”

“It ruins the effect.”

“Huh.”

“He’s not wrong,” Bruce supplied.

“Thank you Brucie,” Tony said like an announcer. “So hey, Loki-bot, how’s about you—”

He was interrupted by the ringing of a phone. Loki’s, it seemed. The magical mystery box.

“My apologies,” said Loki. He fished for his phone in his coat.

“That thing sure bugs you a lot,” Tony observed.

Loki nodded. Answered.

“Was I not just in your office, Heimdall?” Silence for a moment. A sigh. “You think me incapable of behaving myself?” He was drumming his fingers against his leg. “I know. It will be fine. He’ll be back with you soon, and you can hardly claim it was I who let him get away from you.”

And what he said next was with an edge of something Tony couldn’t identify, a quiet, “Thank you for the warning. Really.”

With that, he hung up and dropped the phone. It fell to the floor, saved by its case. Loki had clearly forgotten it.

“Fuck,” Loki said. He fell back in his chair. “Fuck.”

Tony looked to Bruce, who seemed to be making a point of staring at the book in his hands. He then braved looking back to Loki.

“See? You swear very well.”

Loki looked to him. He said nothing.

Tony couldn’t help it. He slid along the couch so that he was closer to Loki, and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I am,” said Loki. He smiled. “Someone from upstairs is paying us a visit.”

“Oh yeah?” said Tony.

“An old friend.”

Tony said nothing. Bruce went with the same tack.

“Heimdall wants to be sure that I avoid saying the wrong thing.”

“Right. Well.” Tony goes for a smile. “You just gave me a class in that, right?”

Loki let out a breath of laughter, which Tony counted as a victory.

“Yet you failed to take notes, Mr. Stark.”

“Okay, well, I don’t think you ever said that—”

He was interrupted by the door opening as if a strong gust of wind hit it. In walked a blond man. Tall, bearded, well-built enough. And, by Tony’s assessment, never quite out of the prom king phase.

“Did you intend to tell Thor?” the man demanded instantly. No time for pleasantries, then.

Loki straightened his jacket and gave the man a smile. “Good afternoon, Fandral.”

The man, Fandral, found his way around Loki’s seat and planted himself. He was standing a few feet in front of Tony. And he did not look like he would be easily moved.

“Did you intend to tell Thor?” Fandral repeated.

“My, this is professional,” said Loki in exactly the same tone as his greeting.

Fandral wasn’t amused. “This is no joke, Odinson. Your brother has barely heard a word from you for weeks and he has to overhear from Phil Coulson the rumor that you agreed to meet with your father after all this time.”

It was barely discernible on Loki’s face, so expressionless by training, but Tony thought that he suddenly looked like he wanted to throw up.

A moment. Then, Loki cleared his throat and said, “Fandral, if Thor had to hear it from one of Nick Fury’s favorite prosecutors then we should all doubt that Odin intended to tell him in the first place. For me to do so would be to—”

Fandral took a step forward so forcefully that Tony almost slung himself back on the couch.

“I want nothing from you about not wishing to defy Odin,” Fandral said. But, strangely, with no bite. “From what Heimdall has said, I take it that it is true you are helping your father with something?”

“Odin has been requesting for some time that I consult him on a small matter.” He went quiet for a moment and caught Tony’s eye for just a second before saying, “I simply agreed to speak with him for one meeting, and that is all.” He frowned, and asked, oh so innocently, “Why? What has Heimdall said?”

Fandral seemed to consider for a moment, his gaze flitting around the room. Honestly, it really looked like this guy had no clue that Tony and Bruce were present. Bruce barely was. He seemed, though he was still making a point of at least looking like he was reading, like he going to melt into Loki’s chair.

“Nothing directly to me,” Fandral said. “He does, however, seem to think that …” He cleared his throat. “That your business calendar is empty. But.” Another step forwards and Loki actually did move back in his chair, though he masked it behind nonchalance. “I can accept only knowing what I overhear, but for your brother to be hearing news through Coulson is…”

Loki shrugged. “ADA Coulson - is he still an ADA? - is Thor’s friend, and I am not. Not telling Thor something about my life does not mean that I’m deliberately concealing it.”

“Mm.”

“But I suppose that Heimdall is right. I have little on my schedule.” Tony could tell that Loki was desperate for any excuse to change the subject. “Hence my lack of excuse not to meet him. I have no business obligations currently, other than Mr. Stark here.”

This was when Fandral turned to Tony, like it really was the first time that he had noticed he was there.

Tony was stuck on how uncomfortable Loki was. He was an idiot but he wasn’t stupid. It didn’t have to be obvious to be obvious. Loki wanted out of this situation. Tony remembered all too well how much it seemed to hurt Loki just to get texts from his father, this Odin. (And with mention of Nick Fury and an ADA, was this the Odin that Tony thought it was?)

Maybe Loki was a saint, maybe he had a list of fuck ups as long as Tony’s. Either way, Tony had one instinct and he went with it.

He stuck out his hand, grinning. Fandral, possibly caught up in the what-fuck-is-this vibe as much as Tony was, took it.

“Hi, I would be said Mr. Stark. Loki’s client, you see?” Tony was going for a sort of used car salesman vibe, he would say. “My turn-ons include accents, sarcasm and not barging into places and harassing my buddies about things that are none of your business. How’re you?”

Fandral removed his hand from Tony’s grasp and turned back to Loki.

Loki quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, you have permission to tell Thor that the story is true.”

Fandral only nodded before leaving. Tony had been tame, too. Could the guy really have gotten thrown so far off kilter?

The door clicked shut. Loki settled back into the position he had been in before Fandral put him on edge. Tony did the same. Then, out of nowhere, Bruce spoke.

“Accents and sarcasm.”

Tony sighed. “Loki, if I killed Bruce would you crisis manage it?”

“For an increased fee,” said Loki with a shrug. “But, as Fandral pointed out, there is little on my business calendar.”

“I’m really your only client?”

“Technically, Stark Industries is.” All was well again, going by Loki’s tone. “Now, Mr. Stark, I believe we were talking you through your television appearance?”

“Oh. Yeah. That.”

Loki was still for a moment. But then, he moved forward in this seat and gave Tony this look that—it wasn’t a smile, but it was a genuine … something.

“You really will be fine, Mr. Stark. You simply have to convince an audience that you are likable and self-deprecating enough to be humble in the face of Aldrich Killian’s justifiable complaints.”

“Justifiable?” Not indignant, just curious of Loki’s opinion.

“In a drunken outrage, you claimed the man has all he does due to theft of ideas. You can think the man as arrogant as you wish, Mr. Stark - and I do know that to be your opinion, yes - but he has intelligence.” He shrugged again, but sort of apologetic this time. “I can see it. He was smart enough to know that suing you made him appear to be the injured party, regardless of whether you felt provoked. And he stole nothing from you.”

“Well,” said Tony, “as far as—”

“If you say ‘as far as we can prove’ then I will remove you from his office.” Loki pressed his palms together, as if he was angry, but then smiled. Plastic. “Do I need to do another Wilson impression?”

Tony laughed. “Go for it.”

Thing was, it had just been thrown in Tony’s face that Loki’s not so beloved dad was actually Odin Borson, District Attorney for the area. And Tony felt like a dumbass for not seeing it, but he also knew that he should  _not_ press the issue right now. There was clearly a background (Loki’s office and business card didn't say Odinson, after all) that was none of Tony’s business.

x-x-x

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
02:12

 _I did it!!_ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
02:12

 _Your interview, I take it?_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
2:13

 _Ye. that thing. that one. With Wade Wilson haha he’s a fucking like a fucking crazy person. did u kno? His people threw a party thing and I sort of went to it I guess. Yah._ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
2:14

 _Are you by any chance drunk, Mr. Stark?_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
02:15

 _Um. I might be.. not very,_ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
20:15

 _Does your image consultant get an explanation?_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
02:18

 _Well i don think Im gettin sued by anyone else. Promise. But.. its kinda loud in here so my head HURTS and THAT is worse, stepped outside for a sec k_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
02:18

 _Oh FUCK I’M AN OLD MAN_ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
02:20

 _Not while typing like that, I can promise you. Are you able to get home?_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
02:21

 _Idk?? Pep has a policy abt not getting me home from places in the middle of the night and_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
02:21

 _No. Can’t._ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
02:22

 _Where are you, Mr. Stark?_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson

02:23

 _Nah is ok u dont have to get me or anythin_ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
02:23

 _Where are you?_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
02:24

 _Mmmm that place in Brooklyn u know where your Asgard types had that do abt umm forests in may_. _Has a huge gold thingy on it._ ]

[From: Loki Laufeyson  
0:24

 _I know it. Stay still, Mr. Stark. I’ll be there._ ]

x-x-x

And so at something past three in the morning, a drunken Tony found himself in the back of a cab with Loki. Loki was sitting there, not looking at Tony, typing away on his phone. Talking to someone, Tony was pretty sure. But at this hour, who else other than Tony was up for being so chatty?

Tony was vaguely aware that Loki had given him a bottle of water. It sat on his lap, just slightly cold. He was too distracted for the drink. His eyes were fixed on the driver.

“He’s surly,” he muttered. He didn’t care if the guy could hear him. “I miss Happy.”

“Yet here I find myself,” said Loki. “Would he have picked you up at this hour?”

“Sure he would. If I asked him real nice.” He waved his arm aimlessly before him, not sure what the hell he was trying to say. “But he was, like, really out of sorts when he dropped me off. Tired or some shit, you know? So I let him be. I’m a nice guy like that.”

“Mm.”

“You offered to come get me. Just saying.”

Loki sighed. “You were in exactly the same circumstances that caused your crisis in the first place, Mr. Stark. I had to.” He seemed to be slouching a little in his seat. “Should Natasha and I put our minds to it, we are perfectly capable of sabotaging you.”

Tony let out a gurgled laugh and nudged Loki playfully on the shoulder. “Nah, you wouldn’t do that.”

Loki considered him. “You think me so loyal?”

“Mm-hmm,” said Tony. “Romanoff, I don’t know. She’s scary.”

Loki looked for a moment as if he were going to do that quirking his eyebrow thing again, but then he smiled. “And I have no doubt she would be flattered to hear you say so.”

“Damn straight,” said Tony with a grin. “I … gah.”

He stopped dead, leaning back in his seat, head against the rest, running his hands over his face. His head fucking hurt. His thoughts were a mess. He could follow them if he put in the effort, but. Fuck it.

Tony flopped his head to the side to look at Loki. Just who was he talking to?

Tony frowned. At that moment, Loki looked … Loki looked good. His suit was neat. His hair was the usual, carefully ordered. Probably took him a while to get it like that, but, hey, it didn’t move. He looked exactly the same as it had when Tony had last seen him, back in his office when they were doing the prep thing. He didn’t look like a guy who’d fumbled out of bed and home after being woken up by some drunken dumbass who couldn’t get home by himself. Much like Tony, he looked like he hadn't gone to bed at all.

Okay, this was getting to Tony. He wanted to say something, to put these thoughts into words. So he opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was, “Your hair is nice.”

Loki stilled before slowly turning his head to meet Tony’s eye. Ah. There was that eyebrow raising thing of his.

“Yeah. Shit. Sorry,” said Tony. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “My brain is kinda smarter than my mouth.”

“Your mouth can do little without your mind’s permission,” said Loki. “Are you alright, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah,” Tony said. He opened his eyes, took in a deep breath that tasted like  _crap_. “I’m serious. You look all professional still.” He pulled absently at the sleeve of Loki’s coat. “You don’t look like it’s three in the morning.”

“It’s close to four in the morning, Mr. Stark,” said Loki with some clear, if mild, irritation. He turned back to his phone. “I was working.”

Tony blinked. “Why the hell were you still working? You must’ve been the only person there.”

“I was,” said Loki. Shit, and he was still texting. Tony was almost ready to lean over and peek at the phone screen.

Instead, Tony went with “Huh,” a brief pause, and then, “Are you okay, Loki?”

Loki frowned at him. “Why do you ask?”

Even in this state, Tony sensed that there was a bite to the words. Perhaps not intentional. It was, after all, a deviation from Loki’s practiced demeanor. But it was there. Tony bit his lip, uncertain as to whether he should press the issue. But he couldn’t help but remember, even through the fuzz of his thoughts, what had happened earlier.

Loki had been upset. Tony had been worried, and he hadn’t said anything. And now it didn’t look Loki had had any rest. And sure, Tony hadn’t either, but.

“Are you okay about…?” He didn’t want to say the word ‘dad.’ “Are you okay about what happened earlier?”

Loki’s jaw clenched.

“You just … your door says Laufeyson. I’m guessing that meeting with Odin’s a big deal.

Loki regarded Tony for a long moment.

“I …” Loki sighed deeply and looked away from Tony. “He is not my father, Mr. Stark.”

“Right. Um.” Tony wasn’t going to ask what that meant. “What changed your mind?”

Loki took a few moments to answer. “It was too much.”

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sorry, would that make sense to a sober person? I can’t tell.”

Loki lifted his phone. “It’s Thor talking to me.”

“Your, uh, your brother?”

Loki nodded. “His girlfriend did tell me that he and Odin have been having a lot of disagreements of late. It seems that I can’t appease one without angering the other.”

“Mm-hmm.” Tony probably sounded fucking useless but he was just … ah, he wasn’t in the state for this. Loki would get that, right?

“But. I’m alright.” Another pause. “I think.” Then, out of nowhere, a breath of laughter. “I didn’t intend to tell my brother about you.”

“Oh? Huh.” _Oh, don’t be offended, dumbass._

“If I mention something to my brother, he makes it his business to aid me with it. That is where the problem with Odin lies. He’s angry with Odin and now thinks that I’m trying to do something that I’ll regret. He has …” He took a moment to respond to a text before continuing. “He has plenty of reason to be worried about me, I know that. But he does seem to question every decision that I make, both professional and personal.”

“But he … ah.” Tony blinked a few times, trying to get his thoughts back on track. “He cares, hm?”

“He does care. I believe that.” Loki’s voice was heavy. Even through his sluggishness, Tony caught that it wasn’t like Loki to be sharing this, that it was a big deal. Did Loki think it didn’t count, since Tony was a little out of sorts right now?

“He cares,” Loki continued, “but he will not leave me alone when I ask.”

Tony laughed, quite unexpectedly. “Yeah, not approving of your personal life and your …” The word didn’t come to him. “People like me.”

Loki smiled at him, and unexpectedly leaned forwards. “My working with you has already been questioned. It is no one’s business but my own.”

“S’not your job to manage your own image, hm?”

Loki nodded, leaned back. “Forgive me. I hope you didn’t feel that I was oversharing.”

“Why you sorry?” Tony asked. Words were getting … trickier. “S’fine. I overshare all the time. I nearly ran over my own pet rabbit when I was a kid, you know.”

Loki was silent for a moment. He then leaned forwards and gave some directions to the cabbie. Once settled back in his seat, he spun his phone around in his hand a few times before saying, “Should I turn this off?”

“Mm?” Suddenly Tony felt sick, and he doubled over. “Ah, shit.”

“Drink your water, Mr. Stark,” said Loki gently.

“Yeah.” Tony unscrewed the cap, which seemed like it had been loosened already, and drank some of his water. “If you’re not up to talking to him right now, don’t make yourself. It’s the middle of the night, you know?”

“Mm. I told him I was at home.” With that, he typed something, then switched off his phone.

“Oh.” Tony drank some more water. “So what, you don’t want him asking about me?”

“Something like that,” said Loki. With that, he shut off his phone.

“So Thor and that lot really don’t want you working with me?” Tony rested a hand on Loki’s shoulder. “‘Cause I don’t know about you, but I think I’m adorable.”

Loki gave Tony a long look. Tony found himself noticing that Loki was biting his lip as he considered him. Fuck his brain. Seriously. Tony removed his hand from Loki’s shoulder and curled it around his water bottle.

“You’re right,” said Loki, finally. “I don’t know about me.”

Tony stuck out his tongue at him but even that felt like too much exertion and he slumped back again. He gave up on holding himself and let himself slide down across the seat until his head was stopped by Loki’s shoulder. There, he let his head rest.

“This cab is small,” said Tony quietly. “I still miss Happy.”

Loki sighed but didn’t sound exasperated.

“Mr. Stark, I despair,” he said.

The journey went on in silence. Tony wondered if Loki would have him sit up, but the man barely moved. He just sat there and turned his cell phone over and over in his hands. Hmm, he was likely wrestling with the idea of turning it on again. Tony too wondered if Loki’s brother would still be texting him, or trying to call, or—

Hey.

Suddenly, something struck Tony that hadn’t quite registered before in his tired, addled mind. He mostly didn’t want to ask, but he did regardless. Mind smarter than his mouth, and all.

“If you go see Odin, and it doesn’t go right …” He swallowed. “That’s going to screw a lot up for you, isn’t it?”

There was silence for a long while. It felt like minute after minute was going by, and Tony just knew that he was the dumbass who had said exactly the wrong thing. He had pushed it too far. Hell, he hadn’t known why he was asking that when he asked it. He liked Loki, sure he did. And he felt as if Loki liked him well enough. But whatever the fuck Bruce went on about was irrelevant, because the reality was that he and Loki barely knew each other.

Then, Loki said something. Barely audible, but he said it.

“I could hardly stay in stasis forever. You heard what Fandral said, Mr. Stark. My business calendar is … empty. And as Odin reminded me when he asked for my aid, that office in the Asgard Group should not be for nothing anymore.”

“What, was he threatening you?”

“Not as such. But Heimdall – the man who took the position my brother failed to – reminded me earlier this week that you are my only client other than…” He trailed off, said nothing for a little too long.

“Other than a favor for a friend,” he said finally with a sigh. This was all something of a repeat of words exchanged with Fandral earlier, but Tony got the sense that it was important to Loki to say it aloud.

Loki leaned towards the cab driver again, forcing to Tony to sit up. He was giving him instructions to stop.

Tony looked past Loki, to the darkness out of the window. “Hey, something up?”

“A thought occurred to me. It concerns me,” Loki said. “Will you be alright without me, Mr. Stark?

“Mm, fuck.” Tony cleared his throat. “Well, I think I’m just gonna go to bed, so. Yuh hup,” said Tony before taking another swig of water.

At this point, the cab pulled up where it could snag a free spot on the curb. Loki opened the door. But before he moved to exit, he turned back to Tony and said, “Thank you, Mr. Stark. For listening.”

“Yeah. Of course,” said Tony with a salute. “And cabbie here will look after me till I’m home.”

“I should hope so. You are the one paying for this journey.”

Tony stuck out his tongue again before, “Oh sure. Like I carry bills on me.” He paused, then a thought came to him. He had to say it. “Nice one for being honest there, Real Power. That’s more than I’m good at.”

Loki nodded, and it was hard to tell, but Tony thought he could see a smile there.

“Promise you’re okay?” Tony asked.

“Yes,” said Loki curtly. Then, to the cabbie, “Thank you.” Back to Tony. “Thank you.”

Loki was just starting to climb out of the car when Tony surprised himself by taking hold of the man’s hand before he could leave.

Loki cocked his head. “Yes, Mr. Stark?”

“Um…” Tony thought about what he was doing, biting his lip as Loki had earlier.

“Mr. Stark?” Loki prompted.

“Goodnight, Loki.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Stark,” Loki responded, looking perplexed. “Will that be all?”

“Yeah, just, uh, bear with me here,” he said. This was probably a damn crazy and stupid decision, but there was nothing new about that. So Tony leaned forward and pressed a tipsy, inelegant kiss against Loki’s lips. _Sure, Stark._

The kiss was short, pretty much because Tony knew that he was drunk and it was pretty shitty. When he pulled away, Loki was raising an eyebrow at him again.

“Your breath is terrible,” Loki informed him.

“Yeah,” said Tony. “Sorry.”

Loki chuckled. “May I leave now?”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

Loki patted him twice on the knee and stepped out of the car. Just as Tony thought he was about to close the door, though, Loki knelt on the edge of the seat and leaned back inside. When he stopped he was close, really close. His lips were less than an inch away from Tony’s.

“Kissing one’s clients is not very professional, Mr. Stark,” he said.

Tony shrugged “So we call it my fault?”

“Oh, Mr. Stark.” Before Tony knew what was happening, Loki’s forehead was resting against his. “Brush your teeth.”

With that, he withdrew from the cab and shut the door. He was soon out of sight.

Tony considered things for a moment. The cab driver was about to drive off and Tony needed to do this before he could do so. Tony slid forward in his seat.

“Do you think my breath stinks?” he asked. The cabbie grumbled.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the friend who I showed the drafts of my earlier chapters to hadn't seen Deadpool, I'm pretty sure, and they had no idea what I was on about with this sixteenth wall stuff. To be honest, I just like sticking Wade where he doesn't belong. He hasn't complained yet. ;) 
> 
> Thanks as always for reading, guys. I appreciate you all so much. You're all awesome. I don't know what I'd do without you.


	8. Review and Redirection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki begins to investigate Odin's situation, and to consider Tony Stark's nature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize before I was in the draft file that this is the longest chapter so far. Editing it was a real adventure, I can tell you. I actually used editing this chapter to help me calm down, though, so maybe it's a good thing that it was a little longer than all those previously. I've had the weirdest month, let me tell you. 
> 
> Thank you all for your continued support! You guys are still the best and I love ya. Hope you enjoy what is, yeah, the longest damn chapter in this fic so far.

It was nearing five o’clock in the morning, and Loki was still in Brooklyn. He was in the cramped apartment of Sergeant James Barnes of the NYPD, the man who once upon a time had with great determination avoided any potential noteriery for being an amputee in the police force.

Loki would insist, were he ever asked, that he had worked to restore the precinct’s reputation, but everyone involved knew that the precinct had only suffered because of the actions of this man. It was this man who had committed the wrongdoings that Loki had helped to cover up.

Loki had known that Barnes would be awake. He wouldn’t have worked to fix his sleep schedule. This played to Loki’s benefit, as there was no way that he could have dropped the thought that struck him in the taxi. And no, he kept insisting to the back of his mind, it made no sense to think that he was fleeing Tony. He’d had the thought to come here before Tony … made that impulsive action.

Barnes was watching Loki. Loki could feel his gaze, though he was looking at the coffee table. Barnes was standing about five feet away, leaning against the back of his kitchen counter. He always had been more perceptive than one might expect. Loki had chosen to take a seat on the couch, having learned long ago that people like Barnes were more comfortable if they felt taller than Loki.

Loki gestured to the ashtray sitting on the coffee table. It was clearly still being used. “I thought you quit, Sergeant.”

“I did. Then I un-quit,” Barnes said, and, when Loki turned to him, “Did you not un-quit alcohol yet?”

“I did not,” Loki said.

“You will,” muttered Barnes. “Why are you in my apartment, again?”

“I don’t believe I have your phone number,” Loki said.

“I don’t have a cell phone, I guess.” And, within a second, “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t deposit my checks at ATMs, either, but who are you to judge?” He coughed once, pointedly. “You just knew I’d be awake, did you?”

“I did.”

“What do you want, Laufeyson?” Strangely, this didn’t sound the least bit hostile.

Loki sighed. He supposed that he should try and get this over with quickly. He would rather not be here longer than necessary.

“I have to see Odin on Friday,” Loki said. “We’ve both called it a free consultation.”

“A free consultation with you?” Barnes was frowning. “For crisis management, or another of his political campaigns?”

“I believe that officially he does still wish to retire.” Loki leaned back where he sat. “But I’m sure you understand why this concerns me, Sergeant. Despite everything, he has continued to be vague. It makes me feel that he doesn’t want to share the details on the phone.”

Barnes laughed. “So of course you thought it had something to do with me.”

Loki bit his lip, playing at internal conflict. “Forgive me, Sergeant, but I can’t see what else he would speak to me about. Were it anything else, he would speak to anyone before me.”

“Maybe you’re right,” said Barnes, shrugging once again, “but I can promise you that I haven’t spoken to Odin.”

“That I believe.” It was true, even when Loki had worked with Barnes’ precinct, that Odin had had no contact with Barnes since the potential scandal itself. “But has anyone … noteworthy, shall we say, spoken to you recently? Someone you might connect with Odin?”

Barnes sighed. For a moment, he looked away from Loki. He seemed to lose hold of his body as if he was suddenly feeling a fatigue that had not been present before.

Loki stood. “I remind you, Sergeant, that while I did all that I could to stabilize your reputation, a reputation is a fragile thing. It would take far less effort to destroy it than it did to salvage it.”

Barnes went rigid. “Is that a threat?”

“Not at all, Sergeant.” Loki took a step forward. “I should just say that while I managed to hide what you did, if something has happened and I’m not afforded all the facts, Odin isn’t the only one I’ll be unable to help.”

“Then Odin should have told you.”

“Perhaps,” said Loki gently. He felt as if he were soothing a child, but that thought surely came from tiredness and bitterness. Barnes was owed a better opinion than that.

“Okay. Um.” Barnes looked away for a moment. In time, he looked back to Loki and said, “An AUSA spoke to me at the precinct.”

There was silence for a moment. It was simply because Loki was trying to process what that information meant, but Barnes bridged the quiet by saying, “An Assistant U.S. Attorney.”

“Yes, thank you, I know.”

“Uh huh.” Barnes sighed. “He was there to see Steve, actually. I guess they know each other. It just seemed like a social call, but then as the guy was leaving he stopped in front of my desk. He asked me if I know Odin. It’s not a secret that I do or anything, so I said yes. He laughed and made one of those small world comments. You know. He used to work in the DA’s office, apparently. It would be how he knows Steve.”

Suddenly, another piece of whatever puzzle this was fell into place. “Was this man Phil Coulson?”

“Yeah.” Barnes tapped the counter twice. “Honestly I didn’t think about it until you … you know. Should I be worried?”

“I don’t know,” said Loki. “I don’t have all the information.”

Barnes would catch a lie, and that was the most honest answer that he could give. In isolation, this incident wasn’t at all suspicious. But it wasn’t in isolation. Loki also had to consider the fact that Odin had been trying to get him to a meeting for some time now and had been (rather passive aggressively) mentioning Vali as encouragement. Loki hadn’t known of Coulson’s current job, but Coulson had apparently the one who had thought to tell Thor about the meeting on Friday. That meant that he knew about it. If that was the case, then—

Loki’s thoughts pulled him away to the car, to Thor’s upset messages … to that drunken kiss from Tony. He wanted to go to bed.

“Are you alright?” asked Barnes. “This could be nothing.”

“It could be nothing. It could be something. I wouldn’t want to speculate.” He smiled, suddenly finding the need for his professional persona. “But I am very grateful to know. Thank you.”

“You wouldn’t be suspicious if it wasn’t Odin, would you?”

“It hardly matters.” Loki looked at his watch. Pure charade. “I should go.”

“I understand not being able to sleep until you’ve addressed what’s on your mind, but what were you doing in this area anyway?” Despite the probing nature of this question, Loki supposed that the blessing of Barnes was that he knew when to move on.

“Doing?” asked Loki. “No one you know.” He walked passed Barnes quickly but made sure to stop when he reached the door. “Will you be alright, Sergeant?”

Again, Barnes shrugged. “I’m not gonna panic before I know there’s a reason to.” He smiled, and while it didn’t seem deliberately false, it did seem a tad tired to be entirely genuine. “You do what you do.”

“That I will, Sergeant.”

Barnes allowed himself a breath of laughter. “You will tell me if I should start panicking, though, right?”

Loki nodded, pulling the door open. “Get a cell phone, Sergeant.”

x-x-x

There was sun sliding through a crack beneath the gray blinds of Loki’s bedroom when he was awoken by the sound of his phone ringing. He stirred, atop his sheets, having only removed his coat and suit jacket.

Clicking the phone free of its charger, he answered the call without checking the caller. “Hello?”

“If a red tie makes me look like a Republican, then how come when all the Republican candidates debate a bunch of them are always wearing blue ties?”

Loki smiled. “Hello, Mr. Stark.”

“Mornin’. Did I wake you?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry. But it’s nearly noon, sunshine. Not that I’m one to talk. I slept like three hours before Pepper was waking me up with a schedule she had made up for me next week.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki sat up fully, rubbing his eyes. They were itching with the sting that comes with little sleep.

“I just, uh … I just got called into Barton Romanoff. Romanoff says it all got put on hold because of that stupid interview so—yeah. I’ve gotta go in this afternoon, I guess.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Silence.

“What, not a morning person?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark.”

“Yeah.”

Loki stood. He kept the phone to his ear, though Tony said nothing, as he entered his bathroom and assessed himself in his mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes. Loki turned on the cold water, watched it swirl around through bleary vision.

“I ended up talking to Romanoff about the party last night. She knows that I was drunk,” said Tony. “I think she’s mad at me. But I really wasn’t _that_ drunk, you know. No headache right now. Perfect recall.”

Without his consent, Loki’s mind flashed to the scene in the taxi. The emotional fragility of the time – and Tony’s impulsive action – returned, and with force. He felt nausea lodged in his throat.

Ah.

“I am relieved,” he said.

“Romanoff says I should be learning not to get drunk because when I get drunk I make dumbass decisions, so…” Loki heard an intake of breath. “What I did last night doesn’t need to have happened, if you don’t want.”

Loki contemplated punching the mirror in front of him. No, he would never do it.

“I made you uncomfortable, didn’t I?” asked Tony.

Loki put his free hand under the water. A meager attempt to ground himself.

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark,” he said.

“No, I don’t think you are. You weren’t okay last night, and I feel like…” A pause. “I don’t fucking know, Loki. I’m not exactly good at this shit, you know? I just feel­ – yeah – like I made you uncomfortable.”

Were this a few years ago, Loki might have let out a bitter laugh. Instead, he said quietly, “Is that so?”

“Yeah.” There was the sound of what Loki guessed to be a closing door. “You and I haven’t known each other long, right?”

“That is right, Mr. Stark.”

“And Bruce thinks­—nah, it doesn’t matter what Bruce thinks.” A cough. “The point is, pretty much anyone who knows you, even if they’ve known you as briefly as I have, can tell that you’re guarded and that’s why you’re so…” Another door. “That’s why you’re the way you are, I guess. I get it. And last night was weird. I was drunk and you were upset and all­...” He sighed. “All emotionally exposed.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki shut off the water.

When Tony next spoke, it was gentle. “I guess I just wanted to say that I feel like my drunk ass crossed the line and I’m sorry. That’s all.”

Loki could feel the softness of Tony’s voice. This was a genuine apology, and it stung.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

It must have sounded stilted.

“Of course. Of course.” The background noise was picking up as if he were outside now. “So, uh, are you sure you’re okay?”

“I am, Mr. Stark. Thank you.” Loki ran his hand over his face. He could feel the cold of the water. “Did you say that you have to be at Barton Romanoff today?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah. And I told her that I’ve got a real busy week now, so she said just come in today and we’ll deal with it. She says I’m _special_.”

“They do hate working on Sundays.”

“So do most people, pretty sure.” A beat. “Promise you’re okay?”

Loki sighed. “Yes, Mr. Stark. Why?”

It took several moments for Tony to answer.

“Bruce is gonna be there because he hasn’t got anything else to do and all. I don't believe I've ever had much confidentiality in my life anyway.” Another beat of silence. “Do you think you could come too, maybe? If that’s cool, I mean.”

Loki blinked a few times, making some attempt to bring his mind into focus. “Do you need me for that, Mr. Stark? If there is anything that Miss Romanoff needs to pass along to me, she will be able to—”

“No, I mean.” Tony sighed. “I mean as my friend. Because I realized that this whole situation is kind of fucking with my brain and if Romanoff is going to be talking to me about it in detail, then—fuck, Happy, did you eat a boulder? I—hold on, Loki. Sorry.”

Loki put his phone on speaker, rested it on the counter and listened to the nonsensical cacophony blazing through the speaker. He grabbed a hand towel. Dried his hand and face. He had yet to feel entirely awake. He had yet, in fact, to process much of what Tony had said to him. Though tired, he couldn’t help but run through what thoughts he had of Tony Stark as he failed to make out the conversation on the other end of the phone.

He had to file away the situation with Odin for another time. The discussion that he had with Barnes was worth thinking about, but as it was not until Friday that he was meeting him then he could allow himself to wait. The pressing matter was Tony, certainly. Had his first intention been to ask Loki to join him at Barton Romanoff, or to apologize? That apology had been genuine. Kind. That was without doubt of interest.

“Shit. Sorry,” said Tony suddenly. “My driver here’s got car trouble, apparently. It’s a miracle he even got here. Can I call you back in a minute?”

“Of course, Mr. Stark.”

“Awesome. Thanks.”

And with that, Tony hung up. Loki knew that he should run through the situation with Tony while he had these moments of quiet.

The man had been drunk, but as he himself had pointed out he had not been so drunk as to impair his function or memory today. It wasn’t impairment to memory that Loki was seeking. It was hardly as if he hoped to escape an awkward encounter because of fortuitous memory loss. Such an encounter was an inevitability. But, he lacked the data to determine what the outcome may be.

Drunkenness was foolish. It made people unpredictable; all of their carefully constructed personal laws were abandoned. Loki chose not to drink because he couldn’t afford to sacrifice his behavioral rules after he had already sacrificed … such a great deal.

People are a composite. Stitched together. Always coming loose. Loki hadn’t known Tony long, but he had made the assessments that he always did.

Tony was made up of foolhardiness and arrogance and guilt and stubbornness and insecurity. He had the genius, but with his flaws, it led to insecurity. A need to be on top. To feel as if he had won. That was why he would probably never be able to provide what Aldrich Killian wanted from him. Loki had to note these flaws to do his job properly. He had to see where they were weak.

Of course, he had noticed Tony’s strengths too. He saw the intelligence and the insight, the jokes that came not just from insecurity but from also a genuine sense of humor. A … sparkle, if he had to provide a weak descriptive. Initially, as he always did, he had listed all of it and plugged it into the equation. He thought that he knew Tony enough.

The problem that Loki quickly had was that he had missed something. He spotted it when Tony clung to his sleeve to stop him from leaving, to check that he was alright. Once witnessed, he had applied it elsewhere. To Tony’s willingness to accommodate Loki when he called him to get Heimdall out of his office. To his affection for Dr. Banner. To the way that his guilt over Colonel Rhodes froze him. Tony Stark was a man who cared. 

All of this was calculated. Concluded. Understood. Loki had genuinely believed that he understood Tony well enough. He had even allowed himself to put the conflict to the back of his mind as he spoke to Barnes, but as he would soon see Tony he knew that he had to address it. But even after running every bit of information that he had, Loki didn’t know how.

In the car, Loki had been emotional. The errors in his stitching had been on show, visible even through Tony’s alcohol impairment. It was only then that Loki ceased merely seeing Tony’s kindness. He felt it. He felt, somehow, that Tony felt affection for him. After knowing him for such a short time, Tony cared.

Then Tony had kissed him. The fragility, the emotions running high on the surface, had caused him to act without thinking in his response—in kneeling back into the car. Not for a long time had Loki been so grateful that he already had an excuse to leave. How juvenile.

Loki had assumed that Tony’s flirting had been an aspect of his cockiness. His power play. He had concluded that so quickly that he’d not even bothered to pay attention to it.

Now, of course, Tony had asked him to go to the Barton Romanoff offices. Loki wanted to go, too. Tony had been so kind to him. For the first time in a while, he felt completely unable to work out how to handle what was coming. He had nothing.

But perhaps—

The phone rang. Tony. Loki answered.

“Is all well, Mr. Stark?”

“Fixed it, I did. Don’t know if you knew this, but I’m kind of a genius.”

“I believe that I’ve heard that somewhere.”

“Anyway. Yeah. I’ve got somewhere to stop off but I’m meant to be at Barton Romanoff at half two, but if you want to ignore me being a nervous dumbass and go back to bed you should go for it. Brucie will take good care of me.”

Loki took a breath. “Half past two?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll see you there, Mr. Stark.”

“Okay. Um.” Cough. “Thanks, Loki. And hey, guess you get to charge me for you doing nothing, right?”

“I’d not charge you for this, Mr. Stark.”

“That’s real nice of you. Mercy on the poor billionaire.” He laughed, soft. “See you soon, Mr. Laufeyson. Sorry again. For being a dumbass.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Tony ended the call.

[To: Natasha Romanoff  
12:01

 _Mr. Stark has asked me to join you._ ]

[From: Natasha Romanoff  
12:03

 _He does like a party. He says he didn’t do anything stupid last night, though. Is that true?_ ]

[To: Natasha Romanoff  
12:03

 _It is._ ]

[From: Natasha Romanoff  
12:03

 _Alright, I believe you. See you soon._ ]

x-x-x

The elevator opened with its familiar chime. Loki stepped into the reception of Barton Romanoff, and was confronted with the presence of Franklin Nelson right in front of the desk, a set of files in hand.

“Oh,” said Loki. “Good afternoon, Mr. Nelson.”

Nelson blinked. “Oh. Uh.” He let out a breath of laughter, clearly inauthentic.

Nelson took a few steps away from the desk—and out of the receptionist’s earshot. Loki followed.

“You're Mr. Laufeyson, yeah?”

Loki smiled. “I am.”

“I was wondering when I was gonna run into you. The DA has a lot to say about you. You'd think he's the only guy in the world who has a son.”

Loki’s blood turned to ice. He widened his smile. “I hope this doesn't appear rude, but might I ask what you're doing here?”

“Oh.” Nelson nodded towards the files. “Picking up these for a friend. He can't make it himself. Ass couldn’t even make it to my place.”

Loki nodded.

“They were supposed to send me these. Didn't. I think they wanted me over here. Not a conflict of interest if they're playing mind games.” A laugh, seemingly more genuine than the last. “I wonder if they're trying to work out if I wanna play the underdog card.”

Loki raised his eyebrow. He looked through the conference room to what was beyond but could see little.

“Do you think I look comfortable?” Nelson asked.

“Hm?” Loki looked back to him. He didn't want to appear rude, nor did he want to leave Nelson’s presence quite yet.

“I just have a feeling that your friends here will want me to feel like I'm winning.” He took a step backward, held out his arms. “Do I look comfortable?”

Intrigued (enough) by the fact that Nelson had started this exchange with him, Loki chose to participate. He smirked. “Enough.”

“That's a relief. And it's a damn tough job, too, because this suit does not fit me.”

“Do you need a tailor?”

“I can't afford the kind of suits that your friends here wear.”

“Nor can I,” said Loki with a shrug. “I know someone.”

For a moment, Nelson appeared hesitant. He turned to look across the conference room, but then turned back to Loki and said, “Well alright then. I'll take that referral.” He laughed, false again. “This is a legal someone, right?”

“Of course, Mr. Nelson.” Odin would see the end of him were they not.

“Well hey, your suit looks decent enough.” His brow furrowed. “Nobody died in it did they?”

Loki examined a sleeve. “I don't believe so.” He shook his head, dismissing the ludicrous narrative that was beginning to play out in his mind.

“Well, alright then.” With his free hand, Nelson reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. “See? I am a professional. Card and everything.”

“I see that,” said Loki, turning the card over in his hand. This card, in particular, had only Nelson’s number upon it. “It's nice.”

“I'm expecting that tailor’s number, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“But of course, Mr. Nelson. And you will receive it.”

“Good.” Nelson lifted the files in his hand. “Well, better get my ass back to Hell’s Kitchen.”

“Of course.” Loki stepped aside to be sure that he was out of the man’s way. “I'll see you soon.”

“That you will.”

Nelson began to depart, but after just a few steps stopped again and looked at Loki.

“Where about do your family live?” he asked with seemingly innocent curiosity.

Loki wanted to roll his eyes. He settled for a pointed sigh. “The Upper East Side. For now.”

“Mm-hmm,” said Nelson to himself. “Well. I'll see you.”

Loki turned away as Nelson entered the elevator. That conversation alone had provided him with little, but he would have struggled to let it go had he avoided it.

Loki could finally enter the offices proper. He was so recognized that he didn't need to announce his arrival. He pocketed the business card and rounded the corner where he was met almost immediately by Clint, who was dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. Not a subtle reminder that this was a Sunday and he had no desire to be here.

“There you are.” Clint seemed slightly breathless. “Did you bump into Mr. Nelson?”

“I did,” said Loki. “I believe he disliked me.”

“Everyone who doesn't dislike you is kind of a dumbass,” said Clint. “And yes, that includes the dumbasses I'm friends with. Come on.”

He started his walk back down the short hallway. Loki followed, quickly falling into step beside him.

“Mr. Nelson says that he was here to pick up some files that you failed to send,” said Loki.

“Yeah. Uh.”

Clint stopped dead in the middle of the hallway. He sighed, as if he hoped to avoid this conversation. But surely he knew better, and he had been the one to bring Nelson up. For a time he seemed buried in his own thoughts. It was Loki who had to step out of the way for an oncoming - glaring - associate, apologizing under his breath.

“Barton.”

Clint sighed again. “Do you remember that hostile takeover that the Asgard Group led a while back? The uh … the one that Fandral had a tantrum about?”

“I do,” said Loki. He had thought little of it before. The Asgard Group had overseen countless takeovers. It had hardly even mattered who the business been controlled by previously, as the Group had taken over plenty from— “It was one of Laufey’s.”

“Small world, once you get into that one percent,” said Clint. Sometimes it was as if the man forgot that just one of his clients alone could bring him in millions yearly. “There was a wrongful termination suit. They were with us, then they weren't. Not making a fuss of it, but you know bureaucracy.”

“Right,” Loki said.

Once, a year previously, a client had stormed out of these very offices upon seeing Loki talking amicably with Natasha and taken her business with her. Recently wronged by Laufey, she had insisted that Barton Romanoff should have warned her that there was a potential conflict of interest. Loki had only been affronted that she knew who he was. Small world, indeed.

“Oh come on, Loki.” Clint ran his hands over his face. “Nobody was playing games. Except for Nelson and Murdock, I guess. He was supposed to come tomorrow, but apparently, his schedule got messed up the last minute or—I don't know.”

“Mm.” Loki thought for a moment, then said, “Barton, I don't—”

“If you're wondering why nobody told you we had this case, it's because we didn't want you to throw a hissy fit.” Barton’s expression had a deathly seriousness about it. “If you must know.”

“That isn't what I was going to say.”

“Right.” Clint folded his arms. “So what _were_ you going to say?”

“I don't care,” Loki finished, pointedly.

Clint blinked. As desired, he was taken aback. “Oh. Well, I … Um. Guess it doesn't matter anyway. Fandral's tantrum was about White Collar showing up, right? And I know it came to nothing, so—”

“I should be with Natasha and Mr. Stark.”

“Of course.” Clint patted Loki on the shoulder. “Come on.”

And they were walking again. Loki committed what he had learned to memory, but this was still not the time to be thinking about any such matters.

“So Nelson didn't like you?”

“I believe he looked down on me due to my adoptive family’s wealth.”

“I’ve seen their apartment, Loki. I look down on you for that. You fucking cliché.”

“Barton, you live in the same neighborhood as Mr. Stark.”

“Oh, don't fucking remind me.”

At this point, they reached the space outside the offices of the name partners. Through the door to Natasha’s office, Loki could see Natasha at her desk and Dr. Banner perched on a chair a few feet away from it. He was facing where Loki knew the couch to be. This was likely where Tony would be, as well.

“Oh, before I forget,” said Clint. “Vali will be round my place on Tuesday.”

“Is he not always?”

“I mean. Often. Yeah.” Clint cleared his throat. “Thor will be picking him up, I take it?”

“Probably.” Loki shrugged as if it were nothing. “How would I know?”

“Okay. I get it.” Clint smiled suddenly. A gentle, understanding expression. “You still, you know, technically have custody of the kid, Loki. I should know. I got it for you.”

“I know, Barton.”

“Yeah. Sure. This is one long visit to his grandparents’ place, is all I’m saying.” He nodded towards Natasha’s office. “Come on. You should probably be working for those billable hours. Wouldn't want to steal them from you.”

Loki laughed, realizing as he did so that he didn't want to tell Clint the real circumstances of his presence.

Clint led the way to the office and opened the door without knocking.

“Look what I found,” he said. He was smiling. Loki had no choice but to enter.

“Oh look, it's my image consultant,” said Tony, indeed on the couch. He, like Barton, was dressed down. “Speak of the devil and he shall raise his eyebrow at you.”

Loki saw no option but to raise his eyebrow.

“Did Foggy leave?” asked Natasha.

“He did,” said Clint. “I'm sure Loki will charge you for the time the two spent hanging out in reception, Mr. Stark.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” said Tony.

There was something about the way that Tony was looking at him. Loki recognized it as the same look that had accompanied grabbing Loki’s sleeve to make sure that he was alright.

Loki decided that - politically speaking, of course - the best seat in the room was the couch. He took it, feeling Tony’s eyes on him.

“Are you alright?” Tony asked. It seemed an innocent enough question, but he had a deep look in his eyes and Loki knew that he was referring to last night.

“I am,” said Loki pleasantly. Suddenly, he could feel Banner’s eyes on him also. He said nothing which might acknowledge that.

“You guys have fun. I'm gonna go find and kill whoever said Foggy could come here a day early,” said Clint.

“Thanks,” said Natasha.

Clint snapped his fingers. “Oh, Loki. Did I remember to mention that I don't like you?”

Loki smiled. “It was heavily implied.”

“Okay. Good. See you guys later.” He tapped the door frame once and left.

“Um,” said Banner, “what’s the deal with you two exactly?”

“He was my divorce lawyer.” He could feel Tony looking at him. “And then he was my custody lawyer.”  

It was the perfect detail to discourage Banner from asking about subjects which Loki would rather keep to himself.

Banner suddenly had the look about him of a man who had stepped in vomit. “Oh, uh. That’s nice.”

Natasha turned to Loki and said, with deliberate volume, “Tony here has been telling me that you helped get him home last night.”

“Real gentleman, this one,” said Tony. “Except for the part where he abandoned me in Brooklyn at four in the morning because he had more important places to be.”

“Other than that, yes,” said Loki.

Natasha frowned, eyes on Loki, but her comment was, “At least we avoided further disaster.”

In a manner of speaking.

Natasha flipped open a file on her desk.

“Ooh, business,” said Tony. And as he said it, Banner pulled out his phone and occupied himself.

Loki truly would not be needed here professionally. Natasha shared updates from Maria Hill, firm’s investigator, but as far as Loki was concerned there was nothing unexpected. Natasha wanted to settle—and she would. She would ensure that it happened. She also imagined that Nelson and Murdock wanted the same. They must have had reason to take Killian’s case, but with their penchant for representing the unrepresented, they would surely not allow him to play too many games. (Though, of course, they had yet to show signs of wanting to lose Killian as a client.)

Aside from that, nobody present wanted any dragged out investigations and interrogations. They were already saying that there was enough to prove damages (“Per se, such a charm,” Natasha said) or whatever it was. Loki was only half listening. He hadn't been concerned with whether or not Tony had intended to slander Killian. He was more concerned with whether he had intended to hurt Killian. Tony could pay any sum that he might be asked for. That was why settling was so simple. Loki - and Natasha, of course - firmly believed, however, that Killian was suing because he wanted the world to know that he was suing. He was making it such a big issue (despite claiming the opposite) so that Tony would look bad, and he was doing that because he couldn't get what he really wanted.

What he really wanted was an apology. Whether he received anything else alongside that, or wanted to, was another question. But he was getting no apology. He must have known that from the start. Loki and Natasha had.

As was pointed out, Tony still had his theorized damages of roughly sixteen thousand dollars from Killian’s suite. At this point, though, Natasha was all but pleading for the man to settle. If they could negotiate around his refusal to apologize then they could make it go away.

[From: Thor  
14:51

 _I hope that you don't intend to ignore me forever, brother._ ]

“All you've got to do is behave yourself, alright?” said Natasha.

“Yeah, yeah, I totally get it,” Tony said. “Got this speech a million times and I've always listened.”

Banner sighed.

“Really, Tony, it's just a matter of playing along for long enough to satisfy them and then it'll be done. As long as you do as you're told, it won't be a problem.”

Tony turned to Loki. “But the lady doesn't think I will do as I'm told, see.”

“So I gathered,” said Loki.

The conversation continued. It seemed largely benign trivialities about legal matters and Tony’s history of … not quite behaving as he should, as Natasha politically put it. It was only a matter of concern because something about all of this was clearly hitting a part of Tony that hurt. It could be seen on the man’s face. Natasha would say nothing, and Tony would say nothing more than had been said already, if not prompted by just the right words from just the right person. Loki should have seen this before, but the important thing was that he could see it now.

[From: Thor  
15:03

 _You never answered me. I ask only because I’m concerned. I know you think me a pest, but I’ll not leave you to do this alone._ ]

Thor had never liked making it easy for Loki to focus on what he wished to when he wished to.

It came almost as a relief when Clint knocked on the door a short time later. He asked Natasha if she knew a Leopold Fitz, and she exited the room swiftly to deal with the call in Clint’s office with but a quick apology to Tony and Bruce—and none to Loki, as none was required.

[To: Thor  
15:11

 _Would you be content with a phone call later?_ ]

“You okay, Tony?” asked Banner.

“’Course I am,” was the response as Tony pulled out his phone. “Just all what we already knew, right? Killian’s an asshole.”

[From: Tony ;)  
15:13

 _If that’s your brother on the phone, tell him that I’m an asshole client who doesn’t want you texting while you’re with me._ ]

“See,” said Tony, shifting in his seat as if he were about to initiate a speech, “everyone has their assumptions about Killian and I’ve heard them all since he started this whole suing me deal and I swear that none of them know what he’s actually like, you know?”

Loki smiled. “No. Do expand.”

“Well, how it is, see.” Tony cleared his throat, eyes on the screen of his phone. “When I met him he really … I don’t know.” He scratched at his forehead. “He looked up to me. And I guess I hurt him—I know I hurt him. But he then it turned out he was an asshole, so.” He held up his hands. “Don’t know why I have to lose sleep over it.”

[To: Thor  
15:14

 _If you don’t mind, brother, Mr. Stark has asked that I not text on his time. Later, please._ ]

With that, Loki returned his phone to his pocket.

“Wow,” said Bruce. “This is really getting to you.”

“Yeah, it kinda is.” Tony sighed. “You know, yeah. I hurt him. But even if I was an asshole, if he’s the better person like he claims he’s not so much acting like it. He’s still acting like whatever the hell misery he feels is my fault.”

Loki would not dare place the cause at that moment, but his breath caught.

“I got the message. I’m an ass,” Tony continued. It seemed as if he was on a train of thought that had been occupying him for some time. “But he’s arrogant and blames me for all the shit that hits him years after I hurt him even though he’s proven that he’s perfectly capable of fending for himself and—”

“Mr. Stark.” Loki was aware that his voice was quiet. Weak.

“—and to be honest I think he just likes having someone to blame so that he doesn’t have to feel bad about himself if he ever fucks up.”

Loki cleared his throat. “Mr. Stark.”

“Yeah?” There was a cold look in his eye, but it was for Aldrich Killian.

“Could you excuse me for just …” A jagged breath. “One moment.”

He was out of the room before Tony had the opportunity to answer.

It felt like just a second later that Loki was in the bathroom splashing cold water on his face. This was the second time in a few hours that he felt as if he was cowering in a bathroom. Charming.

The truth was that this was ridiculous. The truth was that _he_ was being ridiculous. He might not have fled the car, but he had fled Natasha’s office. He was hiding. And from what, precisely? He had invited Tony to speak about Aldrich Killian. He had asked for this. He hadn’t expected Tony to say anything else.

Regardless. He was being a child. Though the description that Tony gave of Aldrich Killian was not dissimilar to the way in which Odin might speak of Loki, it shouldn’t have provoked Loki to leave. To run away. He hadn’t known Tony for long; the rules shouldn’t be broken just for him.

Loki ran his hands over his face. He could see in the mirror that he looked as tired as he felt. Natasha and Clint surely saw it and chose not to ask because they expected no honesty from him. Tony, however. Tony had asked if he was alright.

Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

He didn’t look up when the door opened. It was slow, quiet, clearly someone who knew that they would find an upset Loki on the other side and was hesitant about how to proceed.

“Hello, Dr. Banner,” said Loki to the sink.

“Bruce is fine.” The sound of the door falling shut. “I’m glad I found you. Are you okay?”

“Mm-hmm. Always.” It was stiff. Not believable. But that didn’t matter.

“Sorry, um.” Banner – Bruce, as he had requested – cleared his throat. “Nat didn’t want Tony to follow you. I think she thought that he would make it worse.”

“Nat,” Loki repeated. It was only then that he looked at Bruce. The man had remained awkwardly by the door. He was picking at the sleeve of his jacket.

“She’s nicer to me than she is to him. I think.”

“I would wager, Dr. Banner, that she is.”

“Bruce is still fine. It’s better, actually.” As he said it, he took a step forward. Then another, less hesitant. He appeared to be taking it one step at a time, but he crossed the room and till he was standing next to Loki in front of that long mirror on the wall. Loki had to look back to the sink.

Loki was taller than Bruce. He disliked that.

“She’s your friend, right? She and Barton are your friends?” Bruce asked.

Loki nodded.

“Do you talk to them about…?” A sharp intake of breath. “I don’t know, stuff like this?”

“Not particularly.”

“They make a lot more money than you, don’t they?”

The words in isolation may have sounded like a barb, but to Loki, it was clearly not intended that way. In fact, Loki laughed and said, “They do.”

“I get it. It’s awkward. And with Tony, I don’t think he really…”

Loki looked up. “Yes?”

“Sees it,” said Bruce. “I don’t think money troubles are a thing that his brain’s ever really had to deal with. They aren’t even in there.”

“Forgive me, Dr. Banner, but are you making a point?”

“Yes!” said Bruce fervently. “Loki, see, me and Tony haven’t been friends long, but as long as we have been he’s, you know, taken care of me. He’s been …” He shrugged. “He’s a good guy.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki looked away again.

“That wasn’t my point either. Um, sorry. Uh. I guess I have a habit of saying things backward. I came in here knowing what I wanted to say but—” Again, he cleared his throat. “Right. Tony and I were in this diner, a while back. Not so long ago, actually. The day after he met you. He said something that sort of … it sort of upset me, I guess. But he could tell. He apologized.”

Loki looked up again. 

“He meant it,” said Bruce.

“I can tell.”

“Yeah.” Bruce nodded. “Point is – see, I got there – I guess Tony’s the type to upset you without meaning to, but he’s also the type to feel bad and say that he’s sorry. So you should just tell him how you feel.” He looked thoughtful, for a moment. “I mean when Nat lets him.”

Loki took a deep, slow breath. “Dr. Banner. To be honest with you, I don’t—”

“Ah, don’t be embarrassed.” It was surprising how dismissively Bruce said that, waving his arm as if batting away an insect. “This is Tony Stark. Embarrassment doesn’t apply.”

Loki smiled. “Is that so?”

“Sure it is. I mean, I know he was drunk, but look how he went about kissing you—and I hope him telling me about that doesn’t bother you, but, you know. Guy’s got no shame.”

As it happened it did not bother Loki that Tony had shared that with Bruce. If anything, he expected it. If it had been anyone other than Bruce, then perhaps it might have, but it was clear Bruce had no interest in seeing it as gossip. He was Tony’s friend and acting only as Tony’s friend.

“He apologized for that,” is what Loki chose to say.

“See what I mean?” said Bruce. “You remember what he posted from my account yesterday?”

“I do.” Though it certainly didn’t feel like that happened yesterday.

“Yeah, well, that he did because I insisted that he’s been flirting with you.”

“He has.” Loki felt nauseated again. “But I rather got the impression that he does with many people.”

“Yeah, I guess he does,” Bruce said, “but I bet he only denies it if he likes you. And he does like you, so—seriously, Loki are you okay? You look a little … off.”

“Fine.”

Bruce nodded, but Loki was certain that he didn’t believe him. “I’m gonna go … I’m gonna go see if Nat will let Tony out, I guess. You don’t deserve to be hiding in the bathroom.”

“I...” Loki’s breath caught.  “Thank you, Dr. Banner.”

It took minutes. Minutes more. And minutes more. Loki didn’t know why. He didn’t want to guess why. But after Bruce left it was minutes alone, in the bathroom, with that mirror reflecting the dark circles beneath his eyes. He had to turn away from it. He sank to the floor, leaning against the sinks’ counter. There was a toilet bowl directly in front of him.

When Tony entered, it was without hesitation. As with Bruce, Loki chose not to look up.

“You realize that you’re sitting on the floor of a bathroom, right?”

Loki nodded, once. “I was tired of the mirror.”

“It’s very shiny.” Tony sighed. “Alright. C’mere.”

He crossed the room twice the speed that Bruce had and sat beside Loki. Right next to him, no space between their bodies. Loki didn’t move away.

“I met Bruce in a bathroom, you know. Actually, uh, he might’ve walked in on me fucking someone in one of the stalls. Maybe,” said Tony. “Not that I’m suggesting anything.”

Loki shook his head. “Dr. Banner did say that you have no shame.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Not a story for the memoirs.” He laughed. Then, sighed. Eyes closed. “Sorry, by the way. I guess Bruce left a while ago. I was just, you know, thinking about it.”

“Mm-hmm.”

When Loki looked at Tony, the man’s expression seemed so … sincere.

“I’m a doctor too, you know,” he said. “I’m like … I don’t know, at least a triple doctor.”

Loki smiled. “I know. I was under the impression that you disliked that being openly acknowledged.”

“No, what I don’t like is being called ‘Dr. Stark’ or whatever the fuck. Makes me sound like a supervillain.” And, when Loki frowned at him, “People with advanced degrees wanna blow up the planet, Loki. It’s not a stereotype that I can help.”

“Right.”

Silence, before Tony sighed.

“Listen,” Tony said, “I can tell that something I said hurt your feelings and I really am sorry about that. Didn’t mean to. Guess it was just me sticking my foot in it again and—”

“You didn’t,” said Loki quietly.

Tony frowned. “Hm?”

“You didn’t hurt my feelings, Mr. Stark. It was something…” He had to think about his words. “It was me. I’m alright.”

Tony smiled. Placed his hand on Loki’s knee. “I’m glad. I was worried that I—” It seemed to be only then that he noticed where his hand was, and he retracted it quickly with, “Oh. Shit. Sorry.”

“It’s no matter, Mr. Stark.”

Tony nodded. He clicked his tongue. “No, really. I’m glad you’re okay. Not sure if the hiding in the bathroom thing really helps you prove that but—no, actually, screw that.” His hand returned to Loki’s knee. “It’s fine. I get it.”

Loki swallowed. It caught, as if there was no moisture in his throat “Mr. Stark, I don’t—”

“It really is fine, Loki,” Tony said gently. He removed his hand again. “If anyone comes in we’ll just say this is where we hold meetings of the People Clint Barton Hates Club.”

“In which case, we should call my ex-wife,” said Loki. “You know, to really sell it.”

Tony chuckled. “Ah, that tactical mind of yours. I swear to God.”

“She slapped him, on one occasion. I thought for a moment that he might cry.” Loki frowned as he remembered the event. “Actually, no, I think she may have bitten him.”

There was silence for a second, then suddenly, “Hey,” as Tony hit Loki on the leg. “Tell me something.”

“What was that, Mr. Stark?”

“Come on, Loki. You have a life outside of Tony Stark, apparently. Can’t all be pain and woe and longing for when you get to see me again.”

“You are a ridiculous man,” said Loki.

“Yeah. Sue me.” He snapped his fingers, wincing. “Oh, no, wait. Don’t do that.”

Loki let his head fall back. It hit the counter with a (perhaps largely imagined) _thunk_.

“Did I not sufficiently overshare in the taxi, Mr. Stark?”

There was a moment when Tony simply looked at him. Loki could all but see the thoughts running through the man’s mind. He must not have expected Loki to bring that up and was having to calculate how to address it. He did, in time, appear to come to some decision, and spoke.

“Hey, look. I’m just worried about you and I don’t like sitting in silence,” Tony said. “Besides, that conversation wasn’t really fun for you, was it? Couldn’t put any of that information in a ‘Fun Facts about Loki’ trivia quiz. And if it makes you feel any better, I didn’t think you were oversharing. You were upset. That’s allowed.”

Loki looked away. In front of him was that toilet bowl. The floor surrounding it was dusty, bitty. Loki regretted sitting down in here.

He returned his gaze to Tony, who appeared to be studying him.

“I’m not overly fond of horses,” Loki said.

Tony considered that for a moment. “Horses?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark, horses.” He watched Tony for a minute for a reaction. Any reaction, mocking or otherwise. He received none and so continued, tone blandly conversational. “I think I might be afraid of them—and I am aware that it’s not among the most rational of fears, but we all have one fear like that, no?” He played at thinking through what he wanted to say next for a moment, but this, much like his conversation with Nelson, was, in reality, empty. Loki had to calculate none of it. “I never did get on with Odin’s horse, either.”

“Odin has a horse?”

Loki failed to see if Tony was agreeing to participate in the small talk, or fighting for a deeper conversation. He really needed to sleep.

“A stable, near the house that he owns upstate,” said Loki. “Though, I suppose my brother owns them now.”

“Huh, a stable.” Tony grinned. “You and I are a very different kind of filthy stinking rich.”

Loki looked away again. This time he couldn’t help it. “That is … not how I would describe myself.”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” said Tony, “but you’re not exactly giving anyone a huddled masses impression, is all I’m saying. Do you go to wine gardens and shit like that?”

“I don’t drink.”

Tony tutted. “Bet you’re a real riot at parties, aren’t you?”

Loki said curtly, “I am a delight, Mr. Stark.”

Tony swallowed. His expression shifted. All conversation about horses and wine gardens had clearly fallen from his mind.

“I really made you uncomfortable last night, didn’t I?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark.” Loki shifted on the floor, turning so that he could face Tony at a clean angle. “And you already apologized.”

“Yeah, but, I shouldn’t have kissed you in the first place. I’m not gonna let being drunk be an excuse. I know you were already leaving and you weren’t running away from me, but that doesn’t matter. I didn’t know if you’d be okay with it.”

Loki took a moment to run through the conversation that he had with Bruce. What he remembered gave him something perfect, and he said, “Dr. Banner believes that you are rather fond of me, Mr. Stark.”

Tony looked taken aback. His eyes widened. But, Tony Stark had a famed reputation for recovering himself.

“I mean. Like. I think you’re alright. I guess,” Tony said. “Dammit, Brucie.”

Famed.

“I’m gonna kill him, you know,” Tony said. “Bastard told me that I need to get laid more.”

Loki raised his eyebrow. “I find that very hard to believe.”

“Fine.” Tony sighed. “Really, he told me that he and Pepper think I’m lonely.”

“Mm.” That seemed more believable.

“Don’t know why, though. It’s not like—”

“Did you brush your teeth, Mr. Stark?”

Tony was clearly stunned by the question and, if he was honest with himself, Loki didn’t feel much different. But, of course, Tony quickly recovered.

“That I did,” he said with a grin. “Used mouthwash, too. You forgot mouthwash.”

“Good. Well done.”

“Yeah, minty fresh.” Tony licked his lips. “Actually, to be honest, my mouth kinda tastes like cheap coffee. What crap do Barton and Romanoff—”

“May I kiss you, Mr. Stark?”

This seemed to shock Tony far less than Loki’s previous change in topic, which was certainly interesting.

“You keep interrupting me today, Loki. You wanna watch that.”

“Do forgive me.”

Tony laughed. He didn’t seem embarrassed, however. Perhaps Bruce had been right, and embarrassment was not a factor for Tony.

“Yep. Of course,” Tony said. “Um. That was about the kissing thing, not the forgiveness thing. Even though I’m pretty sure that you were joking about the whole—”

Loki decided to interrupt him again by pressing their lips together. And he could certainly attest to the fact that Tony’s breath was not “minty fresh,” but it did at least lack the sting of alcohol. There was a moment when Tony froze as if he were surprised that Loki had taken the action, but – of course – he quickly recovered, and with far more elegance than he had kissed Loki the previous night.

Loki realized when Tony pulled away that he had lapsed in monitoring time, but he couldn’t imagine that it had been long.

“And now we’re making out on the floor of a bathroom,” Tony said quietly. “See? I knew you were classy.”

Loki chuckled. “Mm-hmm.”

Tony stood, spun on his heel and held out his hands. “Come on, get your ass up here,” he said, and Loki, with another laugh, allowed Tony to help him up.

“You,” said Tony, prodding him in the chest, “are fucking weird, Mr. Laufeyson.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.” Tony laughed. “We should probably get back before Romanoff kills me and—forgives you, probably.”

“Oh, Natasha has never forgiven me for anything.” 

Tony nodded, with this small laugh. Loki wondered for a moment if the man could see that Natasha did in fact like him. He also wondered if he should tell Tony what had suddenly occurred to him. It was as Tony was turning away that Loki - on foolish impulse, like so much else - took hold of his wrist and did so.

“You needn’t fear that this will see court.”

“Huh?” Tony was looking to where Loki’s hand was on his wrist, but Loki did not find himself releasing it.

“I know that Dr. Killian has seen fit to dig his heels in and I still believe that his wish is to make you look bad, but Nelson and Murdock don’t take cases which they don’t deem…” He considered. “Worthy. They might see something in Dr. Killian’s case but even if they do dislike you, and I see little evidence that they do, they will only let him go so far.”

“And he won’t go somewhere else?”

It was strange. From the words, from Tony’s dislike of Aldrich Killian, there could well be acid in that tone. But there was none. Tony just sounded tired.

“I doubt it,” Loki said. He knew that he didn’t sound assuring. He never did. “Trust me.”

“Yeah,” Tony muttered, and Loki let go of his wrist.

“Dr. Killian has right to be hurt by your words. He has right to want you to answer for them.” And the bite of hypocrisy in the back of his mind was painful, for it was his own similarity to Aldrich Killian that had him hiding in the bathroom in the first place.

“I know that,” said Tony. “I do. Doesn’t mean he’s not being an asshole, though.”

Loki nodded. “He is being …” Again, he had to consider. “Childish.”

Tony blinked. “What was that?”

Loki sighed. Should he have brought any of this up? “If his intention is to demonstrate that he is the better person, then he will hardly do that by playing negative—and I do believe that he is doing that. It’s much the same principle as politics.”

“And you’ve worked on political campaigns, right?”

“I have,” said Loki, though the reminder was sickening. “If a politician intends to play it negatively then he must be prepared for the backlash. Perhaps Dr. Killian is, but I doubt that his lawyers wish to deal with it.”

“So you really think that playing it negatively is what he’s doing?”

Loki shrugged. “Natasha believes that what he wants is an apology, and he is behaving as he is because he doesn’t believe that he will get one.” Even as he said the words, this information was being cross-referenced with the rest in Loki’s mind. “If he wanted an apology, he should have asked you for one directly. Did he?”

“No. ‘Course he didn’t.”

Loki said, with a smile, “I might not know you that well, Mr. Stark, but I do know that you are capable of making an apology.”

“I wouldn’t have apologized to him,” said Tony almost instantly. There was something in his eyes. It was … horrible.

“Be that as it may, if he were being the better person he could have tried.” Loki couldn’t dwell on Tony’s words at that moment. He lacked the strength. “Come, we should return.”

“That’s what I said,” said Tony. His tone was jovial, but it held up weakly. He smiled. Loki barely caught it. “Thanks, Loki.”

“Of course, Mr. Stark,” Loki said, hesitant.

When the two returned to Natasha’s office, Natasha had the same look on her face that she had shortly after Loki decided not to become a lawyer. Her eyes kept moving between all three men in the room with a subtlety that meant Tony would miss it, and that had Bruce excusing himself three times to get a glass of water. In the discussion, she merely continued with what she had been saying before, and she did insist that she was going to get this out of the way. She didn’t use the word, but Loki could tell that she thought this case was stupid.

When the time came, Natasha said goodbye to Tony and Bruce. In Tony’s case, her tone had a bite that she knew he would see, but only to get him to behave. Loki made no attempt to leave, however, even before the expected, “Loki, could you stay? I need to talk to you about something.”

Tony let out a mock gasp. “Mr. Laufeyson’s in trouble.”

“Mm. Not as much as you’ll be,” Natasha said. “Afternoon, Tony.”

Tony saluted. “Ma’am.” He then turned to Loki and winked. His lack of subtlety was truly phenomenal. “Loki.”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Stark,” were Loki’s final words to Tony before the man departed.

Natasha moved to sit in the seat which Tony had previously occupied, next to Loki on the couch. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Hey, it’s my favorite emotionally stunted duo,” said Clint, smiling. He pointed at Loki. “Don’t take that to mean that I like you.”

“I’d not dare.”

“Good boy.” He crossed the room and sat in Natasha’s old seat. “I saw those two leaving. Just thought I’d check if we’re okay.”

Natasha nodded. “For now, I think so. If Killian continues only as he has done and Tony behaves himself, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

“I don’t like that ‘if’ a whole lot,” Clint said.

Loki considered not saying anything, but before Natasha could respond to Clint he did say, “I don’t believe that Mr. Stark wishes to make things worse. If he does so, it will be an accident.”

“Yeah, sure, that makes me feel better,” Clint muttered.

“It should,” said Loki, and Clint frowned.

Natasha had a similar expression. “Can I ask you something, Loki?”

“Of course.” Said, of course, as if the prospect were not terrifying.

“When I came back in here, Bruce told me that Tony had gone to apologize to you for something. Is that—?”

“It’s nothing,” said Loki, quickly. “But he did apologize.”

And more than once that day, of course.

“Wow. Good for him,” said Clint. Not bitter, but no approval.

“He certainly doesn’t intend to apologize to Dr. Killian,” Loki said. Nor had he apologized to Colonel Rhodes, and Loki knew that the two had not been on speaking terms since before Tony had met Bruce.

“I can still deal with this case, though, don’t worry,” said Natasha.

“We weren’t worried for a second,” Clint assured her, and, “Shut up, Odinson,” when Loki raised an eyebrow.

This was all very well, all friendly enough, but Loki knew that there was something else. It was clear on Natasha’s face. He asked her to say it only with a look, and she did.

“Do you know Phil Coulson?”

Ah, of course.

“I know of him,” said Loki. “I know what he does.”

“The person who called earlier – Leo Fitz, his name is – he works with him.”

“Ah.”

Clint appeared to be shrinking back in his seat. He knew the story here, but it had never directly involved him. He was undoubtedly nervous.

“He was asking us weird questions.”

“In what regard ‘weird’?” Loki asked as if he didn’t already know.

“Well, just if we know Odin. We told him that we’ve met him, but we can only really say that we know you,” Natasha said. “It was only weird because it came out of nowhere.”

“No,” said Loki, “it didn’t.”

Clint shifted forward in his seat. “What’s up, Loki?”

Loki laughed, bitter. “I have no idea, but I have a meeting with Odin on Friday. Officially, it’s a free consultation.”

Natasha nodded. She understood. “Is it—?”

Loki had to cut her off. “I did speak to Sergeant Barnes, just in case, but I’d not want to assume too much. I have to speak with Odin.”

“You  _have_ to speak to him?” said Clint. He still seemed uncomfortable with this entire conversation.

“I do.” Loki was all too aware that his voice had faltered. “You know, Dr. Foster told me that Odin and Thor have been arguing a great deal of late, and Thor as good as confirmed it.”

Clint looked like a caregiver sick of his ward as he said, “And this is your business?”

“Mm.” Loki swallowed. “It’s upsetting Vali.”

Clint shook his head but fell back in his seat as if standing down.

“Regardless,” said Loki, “Odin has enough on me without that.”

“Loki.” Natasha moved closer to him, but he resisted the temptation to avoid eye-contact. “Are you trying to say that he’s threatening you?”

“No, no.” He kept his eyes on the carpet. Out of necessity. “But he has enough.”

“Right,” said Natasha. She was stoic, but Loki knew her well enough to know where she was. She’d not force any information out of him, however concerned she may be. Perhaps with someone else she would be different, but she never pressured Loki to speak. Loki always wondered if Clint would, were it not for Natasha.

“Natasha,” Loki said, finally, almost unwillingly, “do you recall when I agreed to help Sergeant Barnes? You agreed, as a courtesy to him, that you’d not press him to tell you what was going on.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Might I ask the same courtesy? If only for the time being. I don’t like this uncertainty. I need to—”

“Yeah, you spend the week like Inspector fucking Gadget doing fuck all while we’re Penny and Brain. Got it,” said Clint.

“You’re Brain,” said Natasha under her breath.

“What I can do does rather depend on what Mr. Stark might require,” Loki admitted. “I have noticed that he plans very little in advance.”

“Mm, and I have to get hold of Nelson and Murdock. They’ve been dodging me and I’m done with it.”

Loki only nodded in response.

“Okay,” said Clint, hands hitting his legs to mark the change in subject, “Odinson’s given me something else to be paranoid about. Thank fucking god for that.”

“You’re welcome,” said Loki.

“There’s nothing else, right?” Clint said. His tone was one of irritation, but there was something kind in his eyes even so. “Nothing else that might bite us in the ass somewhere down the line?”

Loki’s gaze flitted to the glass door, through which he could see Maria Hill speaking to Natasha’s assistant. He then looked back to the carpet. He may as well say it, no? Bruce had him thinking about what he shared with Natasha and Clint, and it wasn't as if he could expect much subtlety from the situation in which he had found himself.

He cleared his throat. “I kissed Mr. Stark in your bathroom.”

Clint sighed. “Damn it, Loki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you go! If you guys aren't already aware, I posted a complete frostiron fic of roughly 20k which you can read in its entirety [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10320917) if you want to. Hope to see you there! And thanks again for sticking with me and reading this fic!
> 
> [librariankiss.tumblr.com](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com/)


	9. Business and Reputation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki has his meeting with Odin. Tony has an idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another chapter that didn't seem to want me to finish it, but looks like we got there in the end. Frankly, I blame Odin and the shady, not quite sound legal/political stuff his storyline entails. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
> 
> And while I'm here, it was while I was working on this chapter that the fic hit 100 kudos! I honestly didn't expect that to happen. It's wild. I hope you don't mind me just ... just generally thanking all of you for your support and continued interest in this fic. It really means a lot to me. You're all awesome.

On Sunday night, Loki did as he had promised and called Thor. What followed was a tense, grating discussion in which Thor’s clear stance was that Loki had no idea what he was doing. Loki allowed Thor to make his arguments but, while Thor was capable of being perfectly well-reasoned, he never seemed to find that reason when he was in a state such as this.

“Thor…” Loki sighed. He was sitting on his bed, looking at the clothes hanging haphazardly in his wardrobe. “Thor, you must be aware that I have to do this.”

“No, Loki. He asks too much of you.”

Loki almost laughed. “So you know what he intends to ask? He has yet to share that with me.”

Thor huffed, but provided no answer. A jacket in the closet fell from its hanger.

“Yes,” Loki said finally, in answer to a thought that had struck him, “and what are these disagreements you’ve been having with Odin? Am I to understand that your relationship with him has been rather strained of late?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Is it not? Thor, I agreed to do this, and I’ll do it. There’s no point arguing with me.”

“Brother, I—”

“Have you shared this disapproval with Odin?”

“I … No,” Thor muttered.

“Ah,” said Loki. “But you think it appropriate to question my judgment.”

A hurried, “I never said—”

“That is exactly what you’ve been saying,” said Loki curtly. “I denied Odin’s request long enough and it was useless. I must hear what he has to say.”

“I know,” said Thor, “but I will keep reminding you that I dislike the prospect.”

“Oh,” Loki said. “That was politically put. I’m impressed.”

“Mm.”

Loki shook his head. He was too tired to think about what he expected from this conversation, and there was a dull pain seeping into his skull that was making it hard to concentrate.

“Thor?”

“Yes, Loki?”

“Please refrain from fighting with Odin in front of Vali, if possible.”

A beat.

“Of course,” said Thor. “Forgive me.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki sighed. “Jane says you argue about everything you see the chance to. What has you so on edge?”

In a tired voice, Thor said, “Father’s health. It has not been the strongest in the past, and he refuses to take care of it now. You can see it, surely. He is pursuing things which can’t be good for it. I know that if he wishes to see you, he is digging into what his happening, and that can’t be…”

Loki remembered for a moment a sight from years ago. Odin in a hospital bed. He pushed it away.

“And you think this situation is making it worse?”

“It can’t be helping. I’ve heard so little of what is going on, but even so, I see it weighing on him.”

Of course, Thor knew little of everything. There were years of background kept secret from him.

Loki asked, stiffly, “Are you well?”

“I will manage, brother,” Thor murmured. “Though perhaps I should regret that I may have to miss a dinner Jane and I had planned for Saturday. It was our first respite for some time.”

It was an interesting thing for him to bring up.

“Live in hope,” Loki said.

“Yes, of course.”

A stab of pain in Loki’s temple. “We will speak again when we’re able, I’m sure. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, brother,” said Thor, and Loki could only be grateful that he made no objection.

Loki had been awake for eight hours, but he felt as if he had been awake for over a day. Thankfully, unless disaster occurred (a thought which could only tempt fate) he had nothing else to do for the evening. Except for one final check. A matter of peace of mind.

  
[To: Tony ;)  
19:33

 _Mr. Stark, what is it that you have planned for this week?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:35

 _Meetings about energy saving light bulbs or something. I don’t know. And Pepper wants me to work on this article I promised I would write. Thanks for reminding me to check what it’s supposed to be about, Reindeer Games._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19: 36

 _You will tell me if you manage to turn it into political uproar?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:36

 _You wanna read my article before anyone else does don’t you?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:37

 _Please._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:46

 _Fine. I’ll pretend that’s a compliment. And I just dug out the info and yeah, apparently I’m meant to be writing about the “ramifications” of the military working with private contractors._ ]

  
Loki considered the potential consequences of this for almost a minute. However, he was so tired that he barely had the will in him to be irritated that he had no forewarning of this.

  
[To: Tony ;)  
19:48

 _How is THAT a good idea?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:50

 _Lost your professional tone there, buddy. But hey. Don’t sweat it. I got this. And if I don’t got this, you got this, right?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:51

 _I suppose so. And forgive me, Mr. Stark. I think I’m rather fatigued._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:53

 _It wasn’t a criticism. We made out on the bathroom floor earlier. Remember that? I think the ship has sailed on you being unprofessional._ ]

  
Suddenly feeling sick again, Loki had no desire to answer that.

[From: Tony ;)  
19:55

 _But like. Go to bed. I could see how tired you were earlier. Go the fuck to bed._ _You know, with love._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
19:55

 _Very well, Mr. Stark._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
19:56

 _Nighty night, Reindeer Games. Going to bed at eight like a badass_. ]

  
And what was Loki supposed to say to that? Pride was hardly what he felt in that moment. He sighed, ready to plug in his phone and—ah, wait.

Loki found his coat and unearthed Nelson’s business card from the pocket. With all the formality he could muster, he sent the tailor’s information in a text and added Nelson as a contact to be sure that he would recognize the number in the future.

Loki really was done. As was his routine, he plugged in his phone and rested it on the bedside table. That was as far as his routine took him. He fell onto his bed, limp.

x-x-x

  
The week went by at a crawl. On Monday, Loki spent the day rebuffing emails forwarded to him by Virginia—last attempts by the press to claw some story from Tony’s situation. But at this point, there was little left. It did call into question just what Dr. Killian wanted. Surely he knew that, in reality, the ultimate damage to Tony’s monetary situation would be minimal. The damage to his reputation would be temporary. Tony Stark had survived being the Merchant of Death, the reincarnation of Nobel. Regardless, if the case was settled with the standard confidentiality agreement, no one could speak of the case in its aftermath.

Yes, Loki knew that Dr. Killian could have handled this better if all he wanted was an apology, if what he felt was emotional hurt, but if there was something else what was it? Loki decided not to consult with Tony on any of this. If Tony had to focus on anything, it must be how to deal with the case privately.

With Tony’s permission, Tuesday saw an hour long phone call with Natasha about Nelson and Murdock. In general, it seemed that they were acquiescing to her requests. As was so often the case, the lawyers had much more desire to co-operate than their clients.

“What about Tony?” Natasha asked.

Loki swallowed. “What about him?”

“Seriously? How exactly did you end up making out with him in our bathroom? It just…” She sighed. “Clint’s not said it, but I know he’s thinking the same. It’s not like you.”

“It hardly matters,” said Loki. “I told you because, in the long term, you are likely better off knowing. That doesn’t mean that … it doesn’t mean that it is your business.”

“I know, I know, I just…” She sighed. “Stark’s an asshole.”

Loki smiled. “Natasha, am I to take it that you’re worried about my wellbeing?”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” said Natasha. “I’ll email you with anything else you need to know.”

“Thank you,” said Loki pleasantly.

“I’d tell you not to do anything stupid, but I think it’s a little late for that.”

“Thank you, Miss Romanoff,” said Loki.

It was less than ten minutes later that Loki’s phone rang again. He answered it with, “I do hope that there’s no emergency, brother.”

Thor let out a throaty laugh. “Do you know a man named Harold Hogan?”

“Mr. Stark’s driver?”

“And bodyguard,” said Thor. “I just met him.”

Loki frowned. “Is that so?”

Thor proceeded to tell a story about some meeting of bodyguards (Thor made it seem as if they all operated within some worldwide organization, at times) at which he happened to run into Hogan. Loki listened, grateful that this was not taxed by talk of Odin and home struggles. Until of course:

“Are you sure that you have to speak with Odin on Friday?”

“Yes, Thor,” said Loki. He refused to take the conversation further.

Wednesday led to a disagreement over rent. Loki had known for a long time that it would happen. Given the state of his business, and how little he was willing to take from his family, he was pushing it further than he should with the price of his apartment. But, he had refused to back down. And now, with multiple allowances having already been made, he couldn't afford it. He couldn't afford his home. And who would he tell?

On Thursday his chest constricted. He had just one day, and he had been avoiding thinking about how to deal with Odin. Any small thought in that direction and he had told himself that he already knew what to do. Talk. Listen. Counter Thor. Whatever Odin revealed to him, he would deal with it. Given that Odin’s home life was putting stress on Vali, he had to deal with it.

Tony texted him periodically throughout the week. Largely it was to complain about how dull his meetings were. In time, he also came to wax poetic about the injustice of forced journalism as he came to work on his article. (Loki was sure to keep an eye on its content. Thankfully, it was nothing that would interest someone wishing to discredit Tony. Too clinical, due to Tony’s lack of interest.)

There was no mention of Sunday’s kiss. Loki found himself unable to bring it up.

And, on Thursday night, very unexpectedly, Loki spent an hour on the phone with Tony, during which time Tony did nothing but talk about _Doctor Who_. And though Loki was able to speculate as to the reason, he decided against it. He just listened. His chest continued to feel tight.

x-x-x

Loki was familiar with anxiety. It was why his ribcage felt on the verge of collapse. But, as promised, he made his way to Odin’s office. Loki wondered if that was where Odin felt safe, as everyone in that office trusted him.  

When Odin started calling Loki, asking to see him, he’d said this was business. That meant that he was going to ask Loki for something—and Loki was likely going to dislike the request.

Quietly, Loki was led by a state prosecutor through the place—as if Loki didn’t know his way around. Loki recognized the man, though he didn’t know his name. Odin trusted him. He almost pushed Loki inside the room, shutting the door on him not a second after.

Inside, Odin sat at the head of a meeting table.

“Hello, Loki,” Odin said, tone gentle. “It has been a while.”

Loki drew in a breath, knowing, however subdued it may have been, that Odin would catch it. This should be a simple matter. It should.

Loki smiled. “Mr. Borson.” And, gesturing to the chair nearest Odin, “May I?”

Odin nodded. Loki took the seat, not sliding it back under the table. It provided a better view of Odin. And, it provided distance.

“You look…” Odin looked him up and down. “You look thinner.”

“As do you,” said Loki.

It was no lie. The Odin that Loki would always remember was the one from his childhood. Tall, sure in every step, certain in every word. There was something in Loki’s memory which always found Odin intimidating, and this translated into the present. But now, the pallor of Odin's face was striking. And he did seem thinner. Not drastically, but the difference was there. But then, Odin was shorter than Loki, than Thor. Odin was shorter than Laufey. Thor’s words about Odin returned and hung in the back of Loki’s mind.

“So your mother keeps reminding me, and for so long now. But, the work I do is draining.”

“I can imagine,” Loki said. The mention of Frigga stung.

“Speaking of which, how has work been for you?” Odin asked. “You’ve been employed by Tony Stark, have you not?”

“By Stark Industries, yes.”

“It is an interesting situation, I’ll grant you. Last I heard of Aldrich Killian, and I admit I’ve heard little, he was not based in New York.”

Suspecting interrogation now, Loki said, “He is now. Provided him with the poor luck of proximity.”

Odin nodded in apparent assent. “Though, who am I to comment on luck? Here I sit, barely able to prove that cold-blooded killers weren’t acting in self-defense.”

Loki frowned. This was not the conversation that he wanted to have. But he did know that Odin had always had a frustration with the system of prosecution. And he understood it—in a way. Innocent until proven guilty was right. It was good. But, Loki was aware that there were times when you _knew_. You knew there was _something_ , at least, and there was nothing that could be done. In fact once, though he shouldn’t have been listening, he heard Natasha happily say farewell to a man she had just got off a murder charge, then respond to Maria Hill’s quiet, “He did it,” with, “I know.”

Tony had a conviction that, despite being the innocent party in this lawsuit, Aldrich Killian was not an innocent man, that he had an arrogance and perhaps a cruelty that Tony felt alone in seeing. But Tony did see it. Tony lived like he _knew._ It was hardly murder, but Loki kept pondering it all the same.

But. This wasn’t the subject for now. In the past, pressing this kind of topic with Odin had only led to … well, as it happened, it had led to the kind of situation that had Odin asking Loki for help.

Loki cleared his throat. “I hope you don’t mind me changing the subject, but I have other appointments to get to today. What is it that you need of me, Mr. Borson?”

It seemed that the lie was successful. Odin nodded. The man’s demeanor changed instantly. It grew somber. He stood, slowly, and walked a picture on the wall, some stock photograph of the classic New York skyline in the days before Stark Industries had made its contribution to it.

“It is strange, but I find that I still miss the art from my office at home.”

He was referring to the collection that hung in his office in the home the family owned upstate. The home which Loki had now mentioned to Tony. It was an impressive collection, worth a small fortune in all. Some of it was quite hideous. Some of it had Loki jealous. In his apartment, all the art was part of the sparse furniture which had come with it.

“I truly was stunned by how much time you managed to spend in art galleries,” said Loki. Odin traveled across the country for the right piece. Sometimes, it was as if Odin didn’t live with them at all. “But come on, Mr. Borson. If I agree to a consultation, I do expect to consult.”

“Yes, of course.” Odin turned to face Loki, hands clasped behind his back. “I’m sure that you’ve heard Phil Coulson’s name recently.”

Loki rested his elbow on the table. “I have.”

“Something’s going on,” Odin said.

“Yes,” said Loki. Slowly, because of course it was.

Odin sighed and returned to his seat at the table. He looked almost as if he were going to fling the chair across the room when he turned it to face Loki.

“I asked you about Stark. The reason is Jormungand. You’re familiar with it, I presume.”

Loki nodded. “Mr. Stark has quite the active thread. I asked him to read it, but I think he only went through the hashtag. Less detail.”

“I cannot claim that luxury. I have a thread on there myself,” said Odin.

“I remember. But I believe it inactive,” Loki said.

Odin shook his head. “Until recently. And Coulson once worked in this office, does he not think this inappropriate?”

“Mr. Borson,” Loki began. That feeling of tightness in his torso had worsened, pushing a scratching sickness back into his throat. Situations like this were exactly what caused the emotional weakness that Tony had witnessed. He had to suppress that. “I’m here in a professional capacity, as we agreed. My consultations only last so long. You have to be direct, or I can offer you little.”

“Several of the attorneys in this office have been approached by people working with Phil Coulson, though not the man himself. They were asked how it is to work with me. Then, they were asked how I conduct affairs within the office—and about my state of mind. To me, that seems like someone trying for an investigation, if none is occurring.”

Loki had expected hesitation, but Odin said that instantly. Loki didn’t even need to think that information through.

“Lawyers know better than to ask after a person’s state of mind if they have something. It sounds to me like somebody searching for something Anything.”

Odin said nothing. He simply looked at Loki, expression blank, as if the two were playing poker.

“But you knew that,” Loki said. He kept his tone mild. In this place, with this man, of course he did. But wanted to clench his jaw and slam his hand on the table—already. At this stage in his career, he was growing more than tired of Odin’s continued belief that he had to be tested. “You doubt you’re personally being targeted. As do I. No one in that office can touch you. They don’t have the power.”

Odin nodded. “I wanted your opinion on whether or not there could be some political motive behind this.”

“Political motive from where? There’s hardly a puppet master regime behind the U.S. Attorney’s office. We aren’t in a Chicago political drama.”

It wasn’t giving into genuine bite. It was the way in which Loki needed to address clients to get them to think as he needed them to. Because this was Odin. Surely he had answers to those questions already, so what did he need Loki for? There had to be something else here.

“Loki, please. It’s little to ask of you.”

Loki shrugged. “I do grant you that it there could be something political in there, somewhere. You’ve said yourself that you have no intention of continuing your career after this. There’s little point in trying to get you out of office if you will soon be removing yourself. If it’s political, someone who wished to use a negative opinion of you to further their own campaign would need only the suggestion of corruption, were they to present it correctly. No slander.”

Stating the obvious for Odin’s benefit. Is this really what he had agreed to suspend his distance from Odin for? What did Odin _want_?

“There is no corruption,” Odin said sternly as if Loki were a child again.

“I’m aware,” said Loki. Though, in reality, that was debatable. That returned sickness, now tearing his stomach apart … was that entirely Odin?

“I have some concerns, Loki,” Odin said.

Loki smiled amicably. “And what concerns might they be?”

“I beat Laufey to this office last time.”

Ah. And there it was.

“There is nothing to say that this has anything to do with Laufey.”

“There is nothing to say that it doesn’t.”

Loki had no idea how to respond to that. Surely paranoia wasn’t within Odin’s character. It was no part of the Odin that he remembered.

“The Asgard Group did acquire another of Laufey’s businesses. Laufey is not the type to drop a grudge.”

It was funny how that somehow felt like a shot at Loki.

“I must confess, I’ve not asked you here as an image consultant. Crisis management is certainly more within the realm.”

“You’re the one who said there’s no corruption, Mr. Borson. Where do you believe there to be a crisis?”

“In possibility,” said Odin. “You must know better than anyone that a crisis is best managed before it becomes one. I don’t see Stark Industries falling apart.”

“That I will grant you,” said Loki. “But hiring a crisis manager is admitting to a crisis.”

“If the arrangement is discovered, perhaps. But you’re my son. There’s nothing suspicious in dealing frequently with you.” Odin sighed. “And as I know you’ll ask, I have considered that his angle is personal. I can’t imagine what he would feel against me, or why, but if he worked in this office why ask after my state of mind? He worked with me long enough to get a sense of it.”

The nonchalance of that was maddening.

“Am I to understand that you’re asking for more than this consultation, Mr. Borson?”

Odin nodded.

“You said nothing of that prior to this meeting.”

“As I’m sure you guessed, I wanted this off the phones. Just in case.”

Loki had guessed as much. And that  _had_ seemed like paranoia. A contradiction. 

“Tell me what you would like me to help you with, Mr. Borson, and I will see if I’m able to.”

There was a time when he would never dare say such a thing, but today it was buried behind the politeness, the distance. It was the only thing getting him through the anxiety and nausea.

Odin stood again. He stepped behind his chair and leaned on it. Loki may well have been imagining it - how could he really tell? - but something in the grip of his fingers seemed weak.

“Loki, you and I both know that - however invalid - the only crime that they could possibly be connecting to me is insider trading, and the route to that would be via Laufey or one of his employees.”

The name that he didn’t say were Raze. The story that he didn’t tell was Raze defecting. It didn’t need repeating, but Loki did find himself suddenly fearful that he would be repeating it to an investigator at some point in the future.

“To have anything, they would have to prove it was recent or ongoing, and you’ve been separated from the Asgard Group for years,” Loki said.

“I very publicly put up a wall when I got into politics. If it’s that, perhaps they might suspect the Asgard Group. They shouldn’t be suspecting me.”

They certainly shouldn’t be expecting Odin of insider trading—if that were, hypothetically, what they were after. There had only been a suspicion that the Asgard Group or someone within it had been guilty of such. That investigation had come to nothing. The Asgard Group had a sparkling reputation aside from that. No one would try again over nothing.

Loki could see that Odin thought this serious. And he could well be right. If they were after something, whatever it be and whatever the motivation, this was a large undertaking for Phil Coulson. And, if Loki chose to do as Odin asked, it would be a large undertaking for him too.

“I just need…” Odin began, but he faltered. With a weak sigh, he looked down. It was nothing that Loki expected. A violation of Loki’s code, and he had assumed of Odin’s. But there Odin was, limp, unexpectedly looking like the air was going out of him. “I don’t understand what they’re doing. I don’t understand what they want. Or why.”

Loki couldn’t help but give way to biting at the inside of his mouth. “There are investigators in the world, Odin.”

Perhaps Phil Coulson needed to be reminded of the same.

“And I’d not trust them with this.” His voice might be shaky. But, no. This was Odin. “Not to lead this matter, certainly. And no one in this office could look into it. I would…” He cleared his throat. It rattled. “I would only trust lead of this to you.”

Loki was surprised that he showed it so readily, that this falter in Odin’s demeanor was so obvious, but he did understand Odin’s frustration. He was presented with all these pieces, but so far every way in which he tried to connect him had been unsatisfactory. Nothing yet quite made sense. He was missing information. Not knowing … Loki knew that not knowing could be a painful thing to deal with. Odin might be able to piece this together with more information but, given his position, it would be a risk to seek it.

While this all could be nothing, Loki too would now be cursed with the suspicion that it might end in disaster. He might well be able to resolve this, in some way. Or at the very least shed some light on the matter. But Odin’s last words had only sickened him further.

“I am sorry for this, Mr. Borson.”

Loki stood and walked to the door. Hand on the handle, he froze. He could feel Odin watching him. It was an old and always recognizable feeling, trained into his senses by a lifetime. So, Loki turned his head towards Odin and said, “Thor tells me that he’s been concerned for your health.”

If Odin had any color in his cheeks, it fell. “Yes, he has made that opinion known, thank you.”

“Mm.” Loki thought back to his request that Thor refrain from having those disagreements in front of Vali. He didn’t want to be that open in front of Odin. So, he stole Thor’s words and said, “I can’t imagine that this is helping.”

Odin considered him for a long while before saying, “I can’t recall the last time that I was without a headache.”

Loki didn’t want to be thinking it, not now, but he still remembered the last time that he had to visit Odin in hospital. It was shortly after Loki’s adoption was revealed. It was a time of so much, too much, emotion, and Loki really never could get used to seeing Odin like that. It was surely melodramatic to think that Odin would end up like that because of this. Even if it weren’t, Loki wasn’t supposed to care.

Poor Vali.

Loki drew in a deep breath. “I’ll invoice you for my standard rate, plus expenses. Your private funds, of course. I should be able to find something that your public position prevents you from searching for.”

Odin’s expression was blank. “Thank you, Loki. I appreciate this.”

“I can assure you, there is no need to keep this off the phone. No one would be monitoring you without very good reason.”

“And I know that, I do,” said Odin. “I believe I’m just tired.”

“I understand,” said Loki. If necessary, he knew that he could use their private and personal email addresses as a pointless, but polite gesture. “I’ll contact you soon, Mr. Borson. As I say, I have other appointments.”

“Have a good afternoon, Loki,” Odin said, and the words at least sounded sincere.

“And you,” said Loki.

He exited swiftly. He was soon out of the office, away from any real or imagined eyes that may be watching him. The crowds out on the street could make him as uncomfortable as clogged subway tunnels, but anything was preferable to that office.

He had considered means of transport long in advance. The cheaper forms of transport always seemed to cause the biggest strain on his nerves. It took some preparation before he could deal with them.  

Loki found a place to stand—on the sidewalk, tucked to the side. His nerves were shredded. He felt physically, dangerously sick. Surely it was a foolish decision to help Odin. But he knew Odin well enough not to back out now. Though, if Thor had been so concerned about Loki merely meeting with Odin that Fandral came screaming into Loki’s office, then surely Thor would be furious to hear about this

It was like there was something clawing at the inside of Loki’s stomach. He had hoped the feeling would die down when he left the office, but it seemed to be growing. He would not have made it through that meeting had he not put everything into his carefully constructed demeanor. He recalled now how he had felt after letting Tony see him as he had. Fragile. Weak. If he was to get through what was to come because of this decision, he couldn’t allow himself to falter like that.

  
[From: Tony ;)  
14:24

 _Hey there, Loki. Listen, I know today’s that meeting with Odin and I know you felt pretty shitty about it so, let me know if you need anything. I wanna help if I can._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:25

 _Hey, look at that. That was pretty nice of me. Guess I’m not as big a dick as I thought I was._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:25

 _Shit. Don’t take that the wrong way._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:26

 _Actually, I don’t know how you could take that the wrong way. Ignore me. I’m gonna shut up now. I’ve just gone crazy from meetings all day, that’s all_. ]

  
Loki smiled. Then made himself drop the smile immediately. He took a deep breath. It was as if he was stepping into his persona, however ridiculous that sounded. If Tony could hear his voice with his response, it would be even.

  
[To: Tony ;)  
14:30

 _Thank you, Mr. Stark. That is kind of you. Is there anything that you need?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:32

 _Actually, yeah. Could we meet in your office? I’m not gonna make a grand show of being worried about you but, I will be there. You know what? Let’s say it’s because I’m looking for any reason to get out of this fucking conference room._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:33

 _Your office, yeah?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
14:34

 _Of course, Mr. Stark. I’ll be there as soon as I’m able._ ]

  
x-x-x

 

It might have been becoming a pattern. Tony sitting on the couch, Loki on the chair beside it. Today, however, Tony had the restlessness that came with worry. When Loki said little, only responding briefly to Tony’s attempts at small talk, Tony clicked his tongue loudly.

“Seriously, Loki, are you okay?”

“Of course I am, Mr. Stark. Is there some reason why I’d not be?”

“Well, yes. Obviously. And to be honest, you look a little like you’ve—actually, it’s kinda like when Bruce and I met,” Tony said, all very fast. He smiled. It appeared forced. “Can I cheer you up? I could … serenade you.”

“Please refrain.”

“Oh, I know!” He slid towards Loki, pulling out his phone. He pulled up a picture of a haphazard metal contraption and displayed it proudly. “It’s my toast catapult. Do you like her? I named her Betty. And Bruce’s ex-girlfriend is called Betty, you know. Complete coincidence, but I love it.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki wasn’t sure what Tony wanted him to do with that information.

“She never threw toast at him, far as I’m aware,” Tony said thoughtfully. “But wouldn’t it be so perfect if she had?”

“That might not be the word I would use, Mr. Stark.”

“Ah. S’pose not.” Tony shrugged. “I mean it, Loki. You seem … off. Did the meeting with Odin really get to you?”

Loki thought for a moment. Clearly, Tony wouldn’t believe any lie here. And he found that he had no desire to tell one.

“I’m concerned that Thor will be upset that I’ve agreed to help Odin. You were here when Fandral expressed how he felt, Mr. Stark. This could well be worse.”

Tony nodded. “I get it. I don’t think I’d want a repeat of that, either.”

“I did ask him to calm his disagreements,” said Loki, with careful avoidance of Vali’s name, “but I don’t think that will work when he’s speaking only with me.”

Tony appeared in thought for a second. Then, “You know what you should do?”

“What should I do, Mr. Stark?”

“Give him something bigger to focus on.”

Loki frowned. It was interesting, but, “Something like what?”

“Like…” Tony sighed. “I’ve just seen a little, but I think your brother cares about you so much he drives himself crazy over it. But all he’s got is shitty stuff to focus on. What if you gave him something else? Something that’s, I don’t know, better news. I bet he’d leap right on that. Might take the pressure off a little.”

Loki weighed it. This would mean telling Thor something about his life, but he knew Thor well enough to know that he was easily and cheerfully steered in the direction of good news.

“That, Mr. Stark,” Loki said, “is not a terrible idea.”

Tony tapped his temple twice. “Not just a pretty face.”

“Mm.” Loki offered that instead of a laugh.

“I mean, I know you’re not the biggest on sharing, but it’s only your brother. And it can’t be worse than what you’re clearly feeling now,” Tony said. “Just got to call him up like, ‘Hey, did I tell you that I’ve been making out with one of my clients in Barton and Romanoff’s bathroom?’ But, you know, probably not that.”

“Not that, I would agree,” said Loki. “I can do one better.”

“Ooh, the suspense,” said Tony.

Loki pulled out his phone. Again, he feared telling Thor this, but it should be simple to keep Thor from passing the information on, and Tony was right to say that it would ease some of the pressure.

Thor, of course, answered almost instantly with, “Brother?”

“Hello, Thor. I was expecting you to call me.”

“I didn’t know what it would be of use to say to you.” The strain in his voice was obvious.

“Are you alright, brother?” asked Loki, tone light.

Thor sighed. “I believe you know the answer to that.”

“I’m afraid I do,” said Loki. He noted the way that Tony’s eyes were on him. “Forgive me for asking this, but I was wondering if you did have to cancel that reservation you mentioned.”

Thor sighed again. “I’ve not done so, but I’ll still have to.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Why?”

“And you catch my hidden motive.” An unfunny joke betrayed by all that Loki was suppressing. The next words were difficult to speak. “I was merely wondering, brother, if I could use it in your stead.”

Several seconds of silence, during which Tony raised his eyebrows.

“It’s under Odinson,” Thor said finally. There was no missing what those words meant.

“I’m aware,” said Loki.

It was several more seconds before Thor asked his next question, but when he did Loki knew that this tactic would have some success.

“Why do you want it? It’s not usual for you to—”

“I have a date, brother.” It was a relief that the edge of annoyance in his voice didn’t have to be faked. “And as I say, it saves you some trouble.”

“They have my credit card information.” This seemed, more than anything, to be said because Thor didn’t know what else to say. Loki knew that if there was to be a big reaction, it had been so long since Loki had shared something like this that that reaction would be delayed.

“As do I, brother. You needn’t worry about it.”

Thor laughed. “Is this all I get to hear?”

“For the time being,” Loki said. As Tony had said, suspense. He narrowed his eyes at Tony. “I doubt you’d like him.”

Tony stuck out his tongue.

Thor laughed again, though Loki's words had only partly been a joke. “Very well, brother. I’ll tell Jane … I’ll tell her she needn’t worry about the cancellation.”

“Thank you, Thor. Forgive me for not mentioning this sooner.”

“Thank you for mentioning it at all. I’d not expect it. And I’ll tell no one. You needn’t worry. Eight o’clock, brother. You know where.” There was a sound which Loki couldn’t identify, and Thor said, “I must go. I hope we speak soon.”

“As do I,” said Loki, and Thor hung up.

“Did it work?” Tony asked.

“It should do, at least to some extent,” said Loki. “It was a good idea, Mr. Stark. It showed … surprising understanding of my brother.”

“Nah, just of protective types. I know a lot of protective types.”

“Speaking of such,” said Loki, “Thor did mention that he met your driver. I believe he doubles as a bodyguard?”

Tony shrugged. “Technically, but I guess not so much anymore. It’s just what a princess like me’s supposed to have.” He smiled, something sad in there. “I’m not one who’s made it easy on him, though. And I think that’s why he’s always ‘my driver’ at this point. He’s there for the big events and stuff but I go off doing my own shit so much that he can’t be expected to watch me all the time. And honestly, sometimes, I just feel better for having him around.”

Loki nodded.

“Besides, I get lonely,” said Tony, tone joking, “And your brother’s met him, huh?”

“My brother has been working for a security company,” Loki said. “I bring it up only because…” He sighed and pulled at his sleeve. “People are never just one thing. There are other motivations behind Coulson’s actions, but I’ve yet to see them. The same could well be true of Dr. Killian and his actions against you.”

“Huh.” Tony frowned, fidgeting in his seat. “But, speaking of your brother, that was a really roundabout way to ask me out on a date. That usually how you go about it?”

“It was your idea, Mr. Stark.”

“Fine, okay. I just didn’t figure that that’s how you’d do that, that’s all,” said Tony. “That is what that was, yeah?”

Loki swallowed. Nausea had returned. He wanted to feel safe showing more, but that wasn’t to be. He wanted to feel safe _saying_ more, but that too seemed beyond possibility. In fact, this felt like it could be - was, in fact - foolish. But, perhaps he was already too far gone. And it had been Tony’s idea.

“Well, while I doubt he would actually be charged a cancellation fee if we failed to go, as he was so generous I think it would be rude of us not to.”

“Yeah. Guess we’re boxed in on that one,” Tony laughed. “Let me guess. Billionaire’s paying?”

“It would be a nice gesture,” said Loki.

“Got me there.” Tony bit his lip. “I have another genius idea.”

“Is that so, Mr. Stark?”

“Thanks for the skepticism, asshat,” Tony said. “I was just … I’ve got to go back to dealing with the whole Killian thing next week, and I really don’t want to. And you said you agreed to help Odin? ‘Cause I can tell you don’t wanna do that either. So, here’s my suggestion.” He slid forward, perching on the edge of the couch and leaning towards Loki. “Since we’re seeing each other tomorrow, let’s just … let’s just suspend it all, okay? For the weekend, none of this is happening. We go back to dealing with this shit on Monday. Does that sound fair?”

Loki considered. “I believe that it does.”

Tony held out a hand. “Shake on it?”

Though hesitant, Loki took the offered hand.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“Likewise, Mr. Stark.”

“But, since we’ve not suspended things yet,” said Tony, dropping Loki’s hand, “you’re allowed to ask me for help if you need it.”

Loki nodded. “Thank you.”

x-x-x

[To: Thor  
19:03

 _One more thing I must ask. I was told that Phil Coulson told you I was meeting with Odin. In what context did he share this?_ ]

[From: Thor  
19:05

_In his words, he wanted to know if I knew about it. I believe he wished for context, too._

_And if I may ask you a question in response, will I hear more about what you told me earlier?_ ]

[To: Thor  
19:08

 _Perhaps, brother._ ]

  
Loki might not have experienced enough of them to be intimately familiar with the concept, but he still knew a success when he saw one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to use someone else's reservation once. I got there and totally forgot their surname. It was a mess.
> 
> Again, thanks for reading! Like I said, I hope you enjoyed Chapter Nine here, because I've been looking forward to Chapter Ten for a really long time. I'm excited that it's the next chapter.


	10. Dine and Dash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's still technically a date, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, all! The editing on this one took longer than expected, but here it is! As I said in the previous chapter, I've been really excited about Chapter Ten so I hope you all enjoy it!

It turned out that Tony had heard of the place they were going—or at least the building that housed it. It used to be a hotel or something,  though now it was a building full of … whatever the fuck. Tony didn’t fucking know. It had a real old boys’ network vibe to it.

The fact that Tony didn’t like the word “date” hadn’t changed, but they were stuck. It had been used. Pepper had  _definitely_ seen this as a date. But Tony was kind of stuck on the plan. The deal. The distracting Thor. The quitting with the Killian bullshit, and what Loki was doing with Odin.

God, was he always this fucking dramatic?

It was a nice building if nothing else. One of those with _architecture_ and shit. It was grand, like the Asgard Group building. Exactly the kind of place that Tony would associate with Loki. He discovered, upon entering, that the actual restaurant was up a flight of stairs. He felt as awkward as a kid on the way to meet his prom date.

A small crowd stood outside the restaurant. Everyone here liked like that intimidating, old money we’ll-have-our-dads-sue-you category. He wasn’t sure that he liked it here. He saw Loki, suit and coat and usual, was leaning against the back wall with his phone out. Tony pushed himself through the crowd - they didn’t move out of the way - cheerfully enough and stopped beside Loki.

“Hey!” he chirped.

Loki looked up. “Mr. Stark.”

“That’s me. New York’s third most eligible bachelor.” He adjusted his - blue - tie. “You know, in two thousand five.” He nodded towards the phone. “Better not be business as usual.”

“It’s Barton,” said Loki. “The three thousand that I owe my uncle.”

“Ah.” Tony coughed. “Sorry, I—”

“You needn’t feel uncomfortable, Mr. Stark, I assure you,” said Loki. He dropped his phone into his pocket. “Are there rules under which you desire to operate?”

“What?” Tony blinked. “Oh. Right. I figure since this is—you know … Okay. I guess we can talk about stuff that’s close to the bullshit. Like, Odin raised you so by date rules it would be weird to ban talking about him—um, I think.” He cleared his throat. “But I really don’t want to talk about the lawsuit. I don’t want to think about it if I don’t have to. And you don’t have to talk about the Odin bullshit.”

Loki nodded. “I can agree to that.”

Tony thought he saw the faintest hint of a smile, but he might have imagined it. Loki’s posture was stiff, and he seemed distant, so … Actually, yeah, he probably imagined it. He nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a voice he didn’t recognize.

“Mr. Odinson!”

The shouted words had a noticeable accent. When Tony turned, he saw that they belonged to a well-dressed man he wouldn’t dare place above his early thirties. The man beckoned to Loki, who said in Tony’s ear, “Do behave yourself.”

“Excuse me. Don’t I always?”

He received only a raised eyebrow.

“Right. Wrong audience.”

Tony followed Loki to Sir Well-Dressed, who couldn’t seem to decide if he was angry or confused.

“You’ll, uh, you’ll have to forgive me,” the man said. “I saw the name and I was expecting your brother.”

“Mm. People usually are,” said Loki. Was it a joke?

“You don’t recognize me. I know. I’m just here part time. You know, student loans.”

“Ah,” said Loki. “That I understand.”

Stuck in a pit of small talk, were they? Fucking wonderful.

“But I know who you are, Mr. Odinson,” the man said. “Wasn’t expecting to see you, uh, around here.”

“Well, it is dull to be predictable, is it not?”

The man frowned. He eyed the small crowd, none of whom appeared to be looking in their direction.

“Is something wrong, sir?” Loki asked.

“No, of course not.” It seemed now that he couldn’t decide between confused and terrified. He beckoned again. “I’m sorry. Please come with me.”

Tony wasn’t quite sure what did it, but the walk across the room felt like it took an age, and had this oddly artificial feel like they weren’t supposed to be doing it. Tony tried to suppress the feeling. He didn’t do a great job. This side of the door felt a world away from the other side as if he’d stepped through some portal.

The man guided them to a table and gave them a speech that essentially amounted to “Someone will be with you soon,” before dashing away. He made eye contact with Tony just a little too long before that departure, but Tony scared him out of it with a friendly smile.

“So,” said Tony, soon as they were alone, “they sure know you here.”

“It is a family favorite,” said Loki to a crease in the tablecloth. “Although I can’t imagine where my brother finds charm here. Or, indeed, where they find charm in my brother.”

Tony laughed. “You hate it here.”

“I don’t believe I said that,” said Loki, looking up.

Said with no tension, and yet Tony sensed bite in the words like he was trying to bat Tony away.

Suddenly Loki was looking in the direction of the man by the door. “I believe our friend is contemplating how to feel about your presence.”

Oh, good. A deflection.

“Is that so?” said Tony.

“I do have to say, as your image consultant, that being seen here at this time with your image consultant may be bad for your image.”

“Don’t worry. The internet is usually kind enough to stay out of my personal life,” Tony said. Unless someone dragged the internet into it. “And you asked me here, buddy.”

“I do recall,” said Loki flatly.

“Uh huh.”

Unsure where to direct things, Tony scanned the room in an attempt to ground himself. While outside had held the same dark grandeur as the Asgard Group, hardwood and an inky black banister with a painted sheen, this really did feel like a different world. Everything was white. Floor, walls, furniture. Staff and patrons, too—not that Tony was one to talk. It was all soft like everything was made of bridal gowns. Tony felt like his presence would cover everything in dirt and grit.

“So,” said Tony, inspecting his tie for the sake of having something to focus on, “this would be a date, yeah?”

“I believe so.”

“Yeah.” Tony dropped his tie. “Does that mean we’re meant to be, like, getting to know each other?”

“You truly are a genius.” But it sounded too flat to be humor. It was … weird.

“Hey, I…” Tony drummed the table. “I hate small talk.”

“Mm,” said Loki, grimacing. “As do I.”

“Oh, but you’re so good at it,” said Tony, and when that earned no answer, “Okay, so big talk only then?”

“If you like.”

“Sure.” Feeling like he shouldn’t in this place, he rested his elbows on the table and his chin on his hands. “Is God dead?”

“Well,” said Loki, “I’d have to charge him a great deal for crisis management.”

Tony didn’t expect that. It made him laugh. “Okay. Uh. Pepper says I should do this properly, see. So I’m gonna give that a go, okay?”

Loki nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

“Okay, cool.” Tony leaned back in his seat. “I’m trying to think. How much I know about you, you know. Since you seem like the type who’s good at reading people.”

Loki cocked his head. “Do go on.”

“Okay.” Tony clicked his tongue. “So. You’re an image consultant and crisis manager. You’ve worked with political campaigns. You care about your business—I can tell that much because your office is nice, and you’ve hidden all your embarrassing books behind fancy covers. You come from a rich family - Asgard Group and all - but your dad is DA, and I’m guessing that’s the politics you were involved in, yeah? You’ve got a brother, who’s older than you, I think.”

“He is.”

“Right. And…”

He trailed off, swallowing.

“Yes, Mr. Stark?”

Tony was nearly done with his biography, but he’d remembered something else, and it was nagging at him.

“You’re a dad, right?”

Loki was silent for a moment, then said, “I am.”

Tony didn’t want to say that he didn’t have a long history of going on dates with parents.

“His name is Vali,” Loki said quietly. “He lives with my parents and brother.”

“Even though you had Barton as your custody lawyer after you were already divorced?”

“Yes, it’s…” Loki was picking at a loose thread of the tablecloth. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, I can’t.”

Shit.

“Hey, hey, that’s okay, Loki,” Tony said. This reminded him of the moments when he was worried that Bruce was about to lose his temper.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

Tony nodded. “But answer me this, okay? What is it with you and lawyers?”

“Me and lawyers?” And suddenly, Loki’s expression seemed more relaxed.

“You know. Odin’s a lawyer, the people who I’m pretty sure are your best friends are lawyers.” He wasn’t going to mention Coulson, but, hey. Another lawyer.

“I wanted to be a lawyer. I met Natasha at law school,” said Loki, picking at a loose thread in the tablecloth—brave move, there, Odinson.

“Yeah,” said Tony. “She said.”

“I was in my last year, she in her first. She didn’t like me. She thought I was arrogant.” It was shared information, normal conversation, but said in this oddly bland tone that made it seem distant. “But in the end, I never took the bar exam.”

“Image consulting just too big a dream?”

The loose thread snapped free as Loki said, “Ever since I was a small boy.”

“So you decided to go into politics,” said Tony with a laugh. “That’s a real step up.”

“My soul is saved.”

Again, Tony laughed. Quiet between them for a few moments. Tony considered not voicing what was on his on his mind. But, he felt brave and said, “You should do that more often.”

“Do what, Mr. Stark?”

“You know. Joke,” Tony said. “I said you were a sarcastic son of a bitch, but I kind of like it. It suits you.”

Loki rested his elbows on the table, lacing his fingers together. “There are many who don’t appreciate this side of my nature, Mr. Stark.”

“Is that why you’re … like you are? Because it feels like you’re forcing that.”

Loki said nothing. He looked again in the direction of the guy who’d walked them in.

“Okay. We can put that one on the pile, too.”

Loki considered him for a moment and, again, said nothing.

“So, with this dream job of crisis management you’ve got there,” Tony said, “how long will you be with Stark Industries?”

Loki frowned. “As long as this lawsuit is a problem. Perhaps a short while longer. It depends on what Virginia asks of me. But we don’t want to talk about this.”

Tony shrugged.

“I’m not a PR specialist, Mr. Stark. I deal with crises and politics. Truly, I think Virginia was being overcautious. I don’t believe you heavily in crisis.”

“Yeah?” Tony clicked his tongue. “Romanoff recommended you, you know.”

“By the deal you proposed, Mr. Stark, we don’t want to talk about this. It falls a little close to what’s going on with Odin.”

Tony frowned. “Oh, uh, okay. Sure. Of course.”

At this point a member of the army of waiters appeared, and so began The Process. When he was done he apologized for being delayed and ducked away quickly.

“Okay, okay,” said Tony. He smiled, hoping it would help Loki calm down. “So are you, like, full of lawyer jokes then?”

“Lawyer jokes?” said Loki, hand on his glass of water.

“Yeah, like…” Tony considered. “How many lawyers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”

Loki quirked an eyebrow. “How many can you afford?”

Tony laughed.

x-x-x

It was as they were leaving that they were caught. The man who seemed to have been such a distraction to Loki called out, “Mr. Odinson!” and Loki and Tony stopped, turning to see the man approach.

“I’m sorry, but could I have a word?” he asked. That accent was bugging Tony. Scottish, was it?

“Mr. Fitz,” said Loki with this empty smile, “is something the matter?”

“So you do know who I am, huh?”

“I made an educated guess. Do you think I know nothing about who works in the USAO?”

Seriously, what world did Loki live in?

“I was expecting to see your brother this evening. I would’ve talked to him. But you’re the one who showed up. Guess I should talk to you.”

Loki’s expression gained this … darkness. For a second. And then it was gone. “Thor doesn’t know anything.”

“Really?” said Fitz, clearly skeptical. “All the better that I talk to you, then, isn’t it?”

Loki just looked at him. This withering “what the fuck are you doing?” look that was the most Loki thing Tony had ever seen. But, of course, in a mere moment it vanished and he said, “Excuse me.”

Before Tony even knew what had happened, he was several feet away with Loki’s hand on his arm.

“Fitz,” Tony said. “I know that name.”

Loki nodded. “What do you wish to do, Mr. Stark?”

“You don’t need to—”

“It was your suggestion that we not discuss outside issues, so if you simply wish to leave then we should do so.”

“Oh. Thanks.” He looked over to the nervous looking Fitz. “So, this is…”

“You do recognize his name. He called Barton Romanoff. He works with Phil Coulson, the man who has Odin so concerned.”

Tony nodded. “Ah. Well. Lemme think of a small world joke.”

In reality, Tony’s suggestion had been to avoid any thought of Killian. If Loki wanted to address his own stuff then, really…

“Didn’t he say he wanted to talk to Thor? Be tough keeping Thor distracted if Fitz over there gives him his story—and you don’t get it.”

Loki frowned. “Is that your concern?”

“Isn’t it yours? Talk to him, Loki. Get it out of the way. Poor guy looks terrified.”

“Very well, Mr. Stark. My apologies.”

“It’s not your fault he’s here.”

Loki nodded. He released Tony’s arm, and Tony expected to be left there. Instead, Loki took his hand and led him back to Fitz. It was strangely gratifying.

“Forgive me. That was rude,” said Loki.

“You’re not sorry. But hey, that’s alright,” Fitz said. His eyes moved to Tony.

“It’s only Tony Stark, Mr. Fitz,” Loki said. Tony nodded.

“Yeah. If you say so. Here, follow me.”

He walked off. It was only now that Tony spotted another door on the other side of the wall, next to the stairs. It led to a relatively small room, full of tables with chairs resting on top of them. It didn’t appear to get frequent use. The light that Fitz clicked on was yellow and weak.

“Well, isn’t this melodramatic?” said Tony as Loki released his hand. “Get a lot of spies in the restaurant, do you?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t think I like it in there,” Fitz supplied. He was standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. “Almost wasn’t in tonight, either. Covering for someone. But, you know, student loans. Can’t complain about work.” There was something stilted in his speech. “It’s the same in the USAO. All those years of school to answer the bloody phones. But it does seem like not one science or tech place in New York is hiring right now.”

“Yeah, I’ve got a buddy who’ll back you up on that one,” said Tony. He found a section of table devoid of chairs and leaned against it, while Loki stayed leaning against the closed door.

“It’s AUSA Coulson who got me this job, actually. Mr. Borson used to bring him here for work lunches, he said.”

Tony, unable to imagine having lunch of all meals in this place, muttered, “Rich bastard.”

“Your net worth it greater than that of my family, Mr. Stark,” said Loki quietly. Then, to Fitz, “Is AUSA Coulson what you wished to discuss?”

“Sure. Let’s say that,” said Fitz. “Look, I owe him. And I respect him. So, I said I’d do what he asked even though it wasn’t official. But I don’t think I can do it anymore. And I think I should tell you that.”

“Mm-hmm,” was all that Loki offered.

Fitz sighed, shuffling his feet. “He said that he needed to address something, but it was too early to announce it, so he asked me and some of his friends to help him start it. He asked me to call this law firm and ask about Odin. I did it, but bloody hell. Even then it felt … off.”

“Barton Romanoff?”

“That’s the one. I told the truth, that they said they didn’t know anything, but he didn’t believe it,” Fitz said. “He carried on doing what he was doing. I think he had some of the other AUSAs ring round wherever, too, but he kept saying we couldn’t go forward. Not yet. He knew there was something, but we didn’t have it, and…” He trailed off with a sigh. “Bloody hell.”

“And why come to me?” Loki asked.

“I would’ve gone to Thor. Thor’s his friend. But then I recognized you and I thought…” He seemed to think for a moment. “I know what you do, Mr. Odinson. I thought perhaps you could do something, or go to your brother if you can’t.”

“Do something about what, sir?” asked Loki. He asked it flatly, as if he knew the answer. Maybe he did.

“What he’s doing is dangerous. I know that your dad is one of the most respected people in New York, and he’s DA. AUSA Coulson can’t have much if he has me of all people calling law firms asking vague questions.” Fitz shoved his hands into his pockets so sharply that Tony imagined him tearing through the fabric. “Look, I know why he’s doing this, and I think you do too, but like I said, I owe him a lot. I hope he doesn’t throw too much away over this, that’s all.”

“It would appear that AUSA Coulson takes his position seriously,” said Loki.

“Your only obligation as an AUSA is to try to do the right thing every day. It’s the best job for a lawyer,” said Fitz, and in a flawless American accent. Then, returning to the accent which was natural to him, “I try and do the right thing, but that agent of bloody justice doesn’t always make it easy. He said he wouldn’t ask me to help anymore, and I’m grateful, but perhaps you or your brother might be the ones to make him see sense.”

“Perhaps.”

“I, uh … I should get back,” said Fitz.

“Ah. Of course,” said Loki. He stepped away from the door. “Thank you, Mr. Fitz.”

“Can’t imagine what for,” Fitz murmured. “Glad I got to speak to you, Mr. Odinson. Maybe I can leave it alone now.”

He made his way to the door. Loki opened it for him. Before exiting, Fitz looked between Loki and Tony with this expression that Tony couldn’t place.

“If you don’t mind me asking, would you two be on a date?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Loki curtly.

“Huh. Tony Stark and Odin Borson’s son. That’s mental,” said Fitz. And with that he left, Loki shutting the door behind him.

“Oh. Staying in here, are we?” Tony asked.

“Indeed,” said Loki. “My brother’s twenty-first birthday party was held in this room. I believe he vomited on my uncle’s shoes.”

“Well,” said Tony, “it’s better than my fucking in the bathroom story.”

“Not so for my uncle.” Loki smiled. “And I’m sure you had a better time.”

Tony let out a breath of laughter, gaze falling to the floor. It dusty in here as it was outside and he could see the scuffs that Fitz had left on the floor. It was when he heard Loki’s footsteps that he looked up, in time to see Loki stopping just in front of him.

“So,” Tony began, “speaking of that getting to know each other thing I’m pretty sure we were meant to be doing, is that, uh, the same uncle you owe three thousand dollars?”

There was a moment of quiet that made Tony think he’d gone too far, but the corner of Loki’s mouth revealed a twisted amusement as he said, “Yes. He’s from my mother’s side of the family.”

Loki rested his hands on the table, either side of Tony. He was inches from Tony’s face. Their bodies were almost pressed together.

“Not a twin, right? Twins are cool. You know, ThShining excluded. And I guess Ursula Buffay isn’t so great. And there’s, like, _Jack and Jill_ , which is just…” He sighed. “See, I’m doing that babbling thing. You should probably stop me.”

“My apologies, but you did ask me to watch my tendency to interrupt you, Mr. Stark,” Loki said. His breath grazed Tony’s lips.

“Oh, would you stop with that politeness bullshit for fifteen seconds?”

Loki shrugged. “Very well.”

With that, he closed the last of the distance between their lips. Tony made no protest. He wouldn’t. But, closed in against that table as he was, Tony had to jerk his arms free to pull Loki’s body closer, make the angle less awkward. And they were like that - together, perfectly alone - before Tony noticed what was wrong. There was a stiffness to Loki’s posture, as there had been all evening. There was a distance. And maybe Tony couldn’t place the cause, but he had to acknowledge that it was there. He brought his hands to Loki’s shoulders and eased Loki away, gently. Now Loki made no protest.

“Hey,” Tony said quietly, “you okay?”

“Forgive me,” Loki murmured. “And, my apologies for that discussion with Mr. Fitz. I know that you—”

“There’s really no need to be sorry,” Tony assured him. To hell with the rudeness of interruption. “It’s probably best you talked to him. Do you wanna, you know, talk about it?”

Loki shook his head, but despite that said, “I believe that Coulson is a good person. He certainly acts as such. His problem with Odin … After what Mr. Fitz said, I believe it could be personal.”

“That seems to worry you.”

“I never can tell if personal or political is more of a concern, but in both cases, the person is unlikely to drop it. Perhaps Odin should be paranoid after all.”

“You’re the expert,” said Tony gently, smiling.

Loki nodded. “But, Mr. Stark, I believe it is by your rules that we put this aside. Let us do so.”

“Yeah,” said Tony, “okay.”

Loki, still close to Tony as he was, lowered his head. It came to rest against Tony’s shoulder. There was little adjusting for the height difference here, relatively minor though it admittedly was, so Tony simply accepted it and wrapped his arms around Loki. He hoped that was acceptable.

“Uh, if I can make my own apology,” Tony said. “I get you’re big on dental hygiene, and here’s me, not brushing my teeth after a meal. But I mean, even if you need me to do that, my toothbrush is at home, so.”

If it were possible, Loki’s posture grew stiffer.

“Hey, hey.” Tony released Loki, and Loki took a step back. “That wasn’t a come on. Scout’s honor.”

Loki quirked an eyebrow.

“Ah, there’s Loki,” said Tony with a laugh. He looked around the room. “Actually, I think my point with the toothbrush thing is just that I don’t wanna spend my night in here. When do you think they last had the heat on?”

“It’s not cold,” said Loki.

“Well, we could stay, have a little campout, but Fitz knows we’re in here, and you know I’d hate to imagine what he thinks we’re doing,” Tony said. “I could just drive you home if that’s what you want.”

“I…” Loki shook his head.

“Okay. Cool. Come on.”

Tony held out his hand. It did take a second, but Loki took it. They exited the room, Tony feeling about as inconspicuous as a dildo in a bunch of flowers. Thankfully, though, the crowd had thinned phenomenally, and Fitz was nowhere to be seen.

x-x-x

Despite everything, Tony had never before been embarrassed by the overpriced gleam of his apartment. He realized now, however, that everything in the place was white, or at the most drastic some pale shade of gray. The windows were as extreme as Barton Romanoff’s glass walls. It might have been a stark (ha) contrast to the grandeur of the restaurant, but it didn’t matter. Loki had reminded Tony of the three thousand charge that his uncle had had to pay in his stead. That sort of thing just … that wouldn’t happen in Tony’s life. He’d pay that without care. Loki had been joking in response to Tony’s “billionaire’s paying?” gag but, really, there was a difference here.

Had he ever been this embarrassed with Bruce?

In Tony’s head, the best way to offset the awkward was with something that easily made one feel superior. He sat Loki down with him on the couch and put a crappy horror movie on the screen—the screen so large that it hurt even his eyes. Teens in a cabin. A flesh-eating virus. The movie singlehandedly killed the awkward and the mood. What more could he ask for?

Loki had even shed his coat and jacket, a miracle so astounding Tony almost braved making comment. He hadn’t, however, removed his tie, which still remained tightly bound around his neck. Never had a comparatively relaxed outfit looked more uptight. Tony had shirked his own tie. He actually wished he wasn’t wearing a damn suit at all. Had he been with Bruce, he would have changed. But Loki … Loki created a different atmosphere. It wasn’t that Tony was guarded around him, that he felt uncomfortable with Loki’s presence. No, not by any means. It was more that Loki was guarded around Tony.

“You know what the problem here is, Loki?” Tony was leaning back into the couch, wondering if shirts were designed to be this uncomfortable. “The problem here is…” He pointed loosely in the direction of the screen. “The problem here is that this movie is … it’s fucking stupid.”

Loki, sitting as if there was a metal spike up his ass, folded his arms. “You did only have one glass of wine, correct?”

Tony dropped his head back onto the couch, grinning. “Maybe I just find you intoxicating.”

“You aren’t funny,” said Loki flatly.

“Eh.” Tony returned his focus to the screen. “I’m still one up on you and your lawyer jokes.”

“It only takes one lawyer to make your lightbulb his. I…” Loki sighed. “I have a lot of punchlines to that joke.”

“See? What did I tell you? A real riot at parties.”

“How many parties do you imagine I’m invited to, Mr. Stark?”

“Well…” Tony coughed. “You were at your brother’s vomit party, right?”

“Mm. Thor is the better company of the two of us, I’m sure.”

Tony laughed. “I’m sure you feel a real connection to Party Cop over there.”

Loki frowned, shifting in his seat. “I must confess, Mr. Stark, I have no idea what’s going on.”

Tony sighed dramatically and paused the movie. He turned where he sat, resting his head on his hand, and said, “Right, so all these young assholes are out being assholes at this cabin, right? But there’s this flesh-eating virus or whatever the fuck and now they’re all screwed. And screwing. And being assholes. It’s a masterpiece of cinema.”

“Mm.”

“Well, I could dig out an episode of _Doctor Who_ if you’re not sick of hearing me rant about that. Or the third _Cabin Fever_. That’s endless fun. Fucking Samwise Gamgee being an ass with water bottles like—”

“Mr. Stark?”

“Hm?”

“I believe you’re babbling.”

Tony sighed. “Caught that, did you?” He sighed and, pointless as it was, poked Loki’s shoulder. He fell back limply. “You know, I’m not sure this is exactly going to plan. I mean I’m not, you know, running away, but I was kind of hiding. I’ll admit that much. Don’t think I’m doing the best job of it, though.”

“I see,” said Loki. “Is that all you intended from this evening, Mr. Stark?”

“Well…” Tony smirked. “Obviously not.”

“I’m sure I’m honored to be on a date with the once third most eligible bachelor in New York,” said Loki.

“You’re adorable,” Tony found himself saying. “Oh, and I’m so not taking that back.”

Loki looked away. “What is it that you mean by that, Mr. Stark?”

“I mean,” said Tony. He shifted closer to Loki. “You’re distant and political and you’re clearly always scheming but you love your friends and you love your brother and you’re a total nerd and it’s—” He coughed. “Adorable.”

“I…” Loki took a deep breath and looked up. “Thank you, Tony.”

Tony, gently, took hold of Loki’s tie. He’d thought it was black, but looking at it now it looked more like a dark green. Loki looked at him. It took Tony a while, but he finally cottoned on to the fact that the look was a challenge. He used the tie to pull Loki towards him. Perhaps the movie hadn’t _quite_ done its job.

“See? Ties are useful, actually,” he said when they broke apart.

“If you use them correctly,” said Loki, tone almost scathing.

“Oh. Okay. Well then.”

Tony wasn’t quite sure how it happened, exactly, but he managed to find himself straddled over Loki’s lap, and with all the elegance to make him feel like an old man. He still had the tie clutched in his hand and, the other hand on the back of the couch, he used it to pull to Loki close again.

Like in the room by the restaurant, Loki made no protest. But there the ended the similarities. Something clicked and they were different. They were messy and knocking teeth and awkward angles but that didn’t bother Tony at all. He dropped the tie and rested his hand on Loki’s shoulder, when suddenly—

“Mr. Stark, I…”

Loki pushed Tony away.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, I…” He sighed. “I can’t … right now.”

“Hey, that’s okay. No pressure.” Entirely on instinct, Tony pressed a kissed to Loki’s forehead. “There’s a woman being eaten alive by a flesh-eating virus behind me.”

Loki smiled. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

Tony chuckled. He swung himself off Loki and flopped back onto the couch. As soon as he did so, Loki straightened his back. He loosened his tie, then removed it and dropped it onto the couch.

“You know, just as a head’s up…” Tony drummed his legs. “I like you.”

“And I you,” said Loki. But he said it stiffly, slowly, not quite making eye contact.

Tony cleared his throat. He pushed himself off the couch but needed a few moments for balance. He blinked several times and placed his fingers against his temples.

“Are you alright, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah. Yeah, never better.” He dropped his hands. “I’m getting too old for this shit. I’m gonna … I’m gonna brush my teeth, or something.”

He was halfway across the room when he realized how that sounded. He turned back, pointing at Loki, and said, “Not a come on.”

“I didn’t assume that it was, Mr. Stark.”

As the door closed behind Tony, he heard the screams of the virus victim resume.

They did, in the end, make it to the end of the movie. Once again, Tony could only conclude that it was a foolproof way to kill the mood. Flesh-eating virus. Every time. When the credits rolled Tony asked what Loki wanted to do and got a polite reply that, practically, amounted to a noncommittal shrug. But he was able to ascertain that Loki was most comfortable staying put - though one would probably be forgiven for thinking otherwise - and guided him to the bathroom. He then continued his trend of hiding (not running away) by retreating to his bedroom.

Tony must have checked about a dozen times that Loki was okay with it, but it seemed like it was. And hell, on the spectrum of weird it would probably be worse if Loki slept in another room, so it seemed that they’d both be sleeping in Tony’s bed. So there they were, in Tony’s bed, both with their reading material. Like a long term couple. Nothing weird about that. And, while Tony was down to a vest, Loki, it seemed, had a t-shirt on under his shirt. One of seventeen layers, probably.

Tony didn’t make eye contact with Loki, instead going through the personal emails that he didn’t check as often as he should. He told himself it was to be certain that Loki was comfortable. It was more so that Loki wouldn’t run away.

“Aldrich Killian will be attending a charity gala in Brooklyn, which will also be host to a number of Brooklyn police officers,” Loki said suddenly, eyes on his phone. (Was Tony too generous with his wifi password?) Then, under his breath, “That can only go well.”

“Can’t knock Brooklyn,” said Tony.

“Mm.” Loki looked at Tony, eyebrow raised. “Our first kiss was in Brooklyn.”

“Oh, fuck you,” Tony grumbled. “If you want news, then  _here’s_ news. According to Happy, if I don’t send this to ten people within the next twenty-four hours then I’ll die a horrible death.” He frowned. “I think there’s a crappy horror movie about that. We should watch it sometime.”

Loki looked away with an expression that was close to being a smile. He went on reading for some time (in that time, Tony sent the chain email to eight lab technicians, Bruce,  and Pepper) before letting out a quiet, “Ah.”

“What?”

Loki looked up. “I …” He took a breath. “I request leave to end our, ah, suspension of matters for just a moment.”

Tony’s chest tightened, but, “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t believe so,” said Loki. “However, that article of yours. It will be some time before it is published anywhere, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I would keep it that way,” said Loki. “If possible.”

“Why?”

Loki smiled. He placed his phone down on the nightstand. “I assure you, Mr. Stark, it will keep until Monday. But I … I’m uncertain, but I may have missed something in my focus on other matters. I’ll check with Natasha.”

“Do you tend to pay a lot of attention to, you know, the legal side of everything?”

“It’s not my job, and Natasha is good at hers. For the most part, I ask little more than what she offers. And she can only tell me what you allow.”

“I signed a conflict of interest waiver, you know. To be safe. Or something.”

“And I suppose Barton is technically still my lawyer,” said Loki.

“Mh-hmm.” Tony smiled. “You _love_ him.”

“I admit I’m a far less profitable client,” said Loki stiffly. It didn’t seem to connect to Tony’s words, and, as he said it, some music sounded about a mile away.

“Well, not to brag, but I’m their most profitable client, bar none. And I don’t even have to verify that.”

Loki pulled away and nodded towards Tony’s lap. “Your phone is ringing.”

“Ah.” Tony looked down. “It’s Bruce. Do you mind if I—?”

“Not at all,” said Loki. He lay down as soon as he said it.

Tony answered the call with, “Hey, Brucie! You alright?”

“Yeah. Uh. Sorry, I know it’s late, I just wanted to talk. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You know me. Up at the worst hours like a—Loki, you are allowed to be here. Relax.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” said Loki. He turned onto his side, back to Tony.

“Oh, right,” said Bruce. “You’re with Loki tonight. I can—”

“Hey, hey, no. It’s totally okay. Plus, me and Loki have been strictly PG-Thirteen, so you don’t even need to picture anything gross.”

Loki coughed.

“Yeah. Sure. Okay,” said Bruce. “Uh, I’m sorry. I just … I’ve not been feeling great.”

“Oh,” said Tony. He leaned back against his pillows. “Seriously, what’s up?”

“It seems stupid now,” Bruce said. What was back in the background? The TV? “I’m just sort of … I don’t know, anxious, I guess. And alone in my apartment. Guess I couldn’t talk myself out of it.”

“Ah. Well. No shame in that,” said Tony. Though, in reality, he wasn’t really sure how to feel. He knew Bruce hadn’t been at his best, but this was the first time he’d called him with something like this. And it had come out of nowhere. What was Tony meant to say?

“Thanks, Tony.”

“We can talk about anything you need because  _this one_ ,” said Tony, poking Loki’s shoulder, “is already losing consciousness on me. He’s a middle-aged woman, you know.”

Bruce laughed nervously. “How’s uh, how’s that going, by the way?”

“Oh, you mean this absolutely-a-date-Loki-even-confirmed-it? Uh…” Tony’s gaze flitted to Loki for a second. He decided on, “Well, we’re pretty sure it’d distract Loki’s brother, right?”

Loki coughed again. And the words sure did feel crappy when Tony said them.

“Right. Okay.”

“Also, turns out I’m great at killing the mood with my choice of movie—the appropriate for teens mood, I swear.”

“Do you want me to…” There was a moment of what Tony guessed was hesitation. “Do you want me to act surprised?”

Tony laughed. “Man, thanks for the faith, Brucie.”

Their conversation continued for a little while. Tony ended up quietly exiting the room as it began to feel too much like he was disturbing Loki. They discussed nothing in particular, nothing important. Bullshitting his way through difficulty. Tony was pretty good at that, yeah?

Bruce’s anxiety was clearly weighing on him heavily, and whatever the cause was, he didn’t want to talk about it, so Tony tried to distract him more than anything else. It was the same tactic as he’d employed as when he’d called up Loki just to ramble about _Doctor Who_ , except here he got into a discussion about how much fictional cops suck. For a time Bruce seemed to appreciate it, but eventually, he admitted that his anxiety was getting too much for him to maintain and he said goodnight.

Tony returned to the bedroom, dug out some headphones and returned to bed. It appeared, at least, that Loki had fallen asleep, and there was something … wrong about Loki sleeping. For all his manners and demeanor and moments of considered distance, a sleeping Loki could maintain none of it. Did Loki have that concern about sleeping? Actually, did Loki spend enough time sharing beds for the concern to arise? Tony hadn’t once thought to ask, despite offering perhaps more details than he should about some of his “dating” history.

Tony pulled up an app that would occupy him—and keep him from fall falling asleep, but fuck it. A feed of videos was before him. He scrolled through popular videos until—

Ah. Fuck. Tony wasn’t having the best luck with the internet, was he?

It was a clip that Tony had, of course, avoided. It didn’t seem to have been uploaded by any official channel, but rather some random fuck whose username was a string of numbers that couldn’t make any sense to anyone. Regardless, before Tony was a relatively short video titled “ALDRICH KILLIAN ON THE SIXTEENTH WALL” with a thumbnail of - of course - Aldrich Killian grinning. Of fucking course. So much for avoiding all this for the weekend, huh?

Tony looked over to where Loki was. He really did seem to be asleep. Of course, if Tony wanted to he could just keep scrolling and find a less aggravating video. But … he didn’t want to. Seeing it now, right in front of him, making all the effort that he had not to think about the Aldrich Killian shit, Tony wanted to watch it. And … Well, was he really violating the suspending things for the weekend deal if Loki wasn’t awake to know about it? Like Tony said, it was for his own benefit. He could break the rule if…

Shit. Look at him bullshitting. He did it even with himself. And what was the point? He should scroll on and think about something else. He was already pissing himself off, and after all that effort he’d put into helping Bruce calm down.

Sighing, Tony clicked on the video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, all interactions are appreciated! But actually, I do have a question for down in the comments if you wanna answer it...
> 
> Do you know any good lawyer jokes?


	11. Anger and Acid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's bad mood gets the better of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was able to finish this chapter a lot quicker than most. This is partly because it's a bit of a shorter one, sure, but I also wanted to try and get chapters out faster for you guys because the drama's gonna step up. Haha, finally we're at a point where all the setup is knotted—neat little bow, and all. I guess the trouble with longfic is, you know, that it takes a long ass time. But, we continue!

The video quality was poor, but Tony could make everything out. Wade Wilson sat at his desk, looking like nothing in the world could make him give a shit. Killian, on the other hand, was sitting on the couch that Tony too had occupied, wearing this smile that showed the teeth he’d whitened to oblivion over time. They’d probably glow in the dark. He was wearing this cream suit with a yellow tie that would probably prove some point of Loki’s.

Tony felt an unmistakable anger brewing.

“So,” said Wilson, leaning forwards and resting his chin on his hand, “what the fuck’s up with you and Tony Stark?”

Killian chuckled. “Now, you know I can’t discuss that.”

“Sure, sure, whatever. But you know the only reason that you’re here is because of you two. Hell, we’re even bringing him on. Whoever the fuck we were meant to have dropped out, so. The mighty network rules.” He mock bowed, nearly smacking his face into the desk.

“Well, regardless, I’m honored to be here,” said Killian. He kept up that smile. “And by the way, I’m so glad to hear that you’re doing better.”

“Well, gee. Thanks. I’m a medical marvel.”

Tony swallowed. He hadn’t mentioned Wilson’s health during his appearance. He didn’t really know much about it. But then, if he was lucky then he wasn’t imagining the bite to Wilson’s response.

“Oh, by the way, does anyone know what I’m doing here? Does it not feel like a stretch to anyone else?” Wilson said. “But, no, really, what have you been doing recently? I’m supposed to ask you that, or whatever.” He picked some cards up and dropped them again listlessly.

With this laugh like a housewife at an awkward dinner party, Killian said, “Well, I will admit that I’ve been having a difficult time recently. I’ll say that much, at least. But, I persevere. And I wait for an opportunity. It’s like my father always used to say: ‘The early but gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.’”

Tony remembered Killian quoting the same to him. It set his blood alight.

“I mean, that one’s also pretty shitty if you’re the worm,” Wilson muttered. Man, Tony was in love.

“Quite,” said Killian. For a split second, he almost sounded like Loki.

“So, uh...” Wilson coughed, looking at the screen. “Bear with me.” Back to Killian. “I hear that you’ve got a funny tale from your tragic backstory to tell us. Color me fucking intrigued.”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” Still with that smile. Killian rested one leg over the other and clutched his—tremoring, just visibly—hands against his knee. “It was when I was a child. And I was being bullied then, being victimized by someone with more power and esteem than myself, and I—”

Tony closed the app and pulled out his headphones. He dropped the phone onto the nightstand like it might burn him. It landed with a clatter that had Tony worried for a moment. But, no, Loki didn’t stir.

With a deep breath, Tony lay down. He was presented with the back of Loki’s sleeping figure. And stuck with his thoughts.

When Tony had been on _The Sixteenth Wall_ , Wilson had mentioned the lawsuit only briefly. He’d let Tony move on with an empty joke and talk about charity work and whatever the hell else. Loki had been right in saying it was for the best that Tony avoid talking about it. It could have led to a lot of trouble. But, even in that small part of the clip, Tony had seen, it had seemed like Killian was politicking. Worse, he seemed to have gotten away with it. It seemed like Wilson was content to let them lead, having little interest in instigating a catfight himself. Maybe Tony should have watched the clip sooner, and—

No. No, he’d known when he saw the video that, while avoiding it would only delay the inevitable, watching it could only worsen his mood. And it had. His chest was tight with a constricted anger. He didn’t want to think about it, but he couldn’t help it.

Killian never used to have this power. When Tony met him, he was shaky, a nervous frame reducing his height. He had spoken to Tony with great admiration. He had asked, despite obvious anxiety, for Tony’s assistance with work. Admittedly, that must have taken a lot of courage. But Tony had turned him away. It must have seemed like such a cruel dismissal, too. He’d promised to meet Killian and never showed up. Killian probably thought Tony had ignored him because he was horny—or something. But there had been more reasons than that … Tony was pretty sure.

For years after meeting Killian, the man had vanished. And then Stark Smackdown happened.

Tony knew himself. Whatever his public image, he wasn’t selfishness, childishness and stupid decisions held up by a cocky demeanor like … well, like Pepper and Bruce had insisted before he met with Romanoff. Like Rhodey probably saw him right now.

 _Fuck_. This was exactly why he hadn’t wanted to talk about this today. Tony hated introspection.

Tony lifted his head and hit his pillow a few times before lying down again. Just how long, he wondered, would it take for sleep to find him?

x-x-x

Tony, an anger that felt fresh bubbling in his chest, awoke to the sound of a glass clinking against the nightstand. Above him stood Loki, eyebrow already raised, and dressed apart from his tie.

“Oh yeah,” said Tony. “You.”

“Good morning, Mr. Stark.”

“Sorry.” Tony sat up. “What time is it?”

“Nine. Not so late.”

“Yeah, but it’s Sunday, and remember that time you woke up at midday? And only because I called you, too,” Tony said. He smirked. “Sunshine.”

Loki rolled his eyes at the repeated nickname, though his posture remained stiff. “I woke up, Mr. Stark. I couldn’t get back to sleep. It does happen.”

And it was clearly a touchy subject, too. Like there was a subject on the planet that wasn’t touchy for Loki Laufeyson.

Tony picked up the glass and inspected it. “You know, you don’t have to hydrate me. I didn’t get drunk last night.”

“Is that the only reason you believe people need water, Mr. Stark?”

Tony shrugged. “I do a pretty good job on coffee and scotch, thanks.”

Loki shook his head. He sat down on the bed beside Tony and assessed him. Tony said nothing, sipping water from his glass and maintaining eye contact with narrowed eyes.

“Your kitchen looks rather similar to how I’d imagine my brother’s adolescent mind,” Loki said finally.

“What, empty? Or full of boobs?”

“The former. Although,” he added, looking Tony up and down, “I’d imagine—”

Tony slammed his drink onto the nightstand and pointed at Loki. “I swear to God, Laufeyson, if you call me a whore—”

Loki cut him off by kissing him, placing one hand on the back of Tony’s head. When he pulled away, he was frowning.

“No,” he said, seemingly deep in thought. “My apologies. Brush your teeth, Mr. Stark.”

“Oh, like you’re one to—actually…” Tony flexed his tongue. “Your breath’s not so bad there. What did you do? Use my toothbrush?”

Loki tapped his nose and vanished from the room. Tony chuckled. He noticed, looking around, that Loki’s phone was gone from the nightstand. How long had Loki been awake?

Several minutes later, Tony met Loki in the kitchen. Loki had been right. It was pretty sparse. Tony wasn’t exactly the best at shopping. He also wasn’t great at getting other people to shop on his behalf. However, he was able to dig out some coffee. That would have to do. It turned out Loki didn’t drink coffee. Of course he didn’t. But he did drink water, apparently. He stuck to that, even informing Tony that he wasn’t hungry.

“Interesting, for the guy who was complaining about the state of my kitchen.”

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark. It was just an observation.” He eyed the mug in Tony’s hand. “Excessive caffeine increases symptoms of anxiety.”

“Great! Just what I need,” said Tony brightly. He was still trying—and failing—to push his anger down to where it couldn’t reach him.  He hopped up onto the counter. “So what’s up, Rudolph? Are we judging me now?”

“It is my job,” said Loki stiffly.

“When it comes to ties, maybe.”

Loki nodded towards Tony’s shirt, the t-shirt he’d put on fresh before leaving his bedroom.

“This,” Tony said, pointing towards it dramatically, “is Black Sabbath, so you can fuck right off.”

“I was referring to the stain.”

“It’s not stained, it’s—oh, you’re right. It’s definitely stained.” He sighed, scratching at the mystery orange spot near his shoulder. He tried to find a subject that would distract him. “Okay, so, here’s a question. What music are you into?” A pathetic question, but he continued with, “Bowie? Britney?” He gasped. “Bieber?”

Loki quirked an eyebrow. He rested his hand on the counter, next to Tony, and said quietly, “Freddie.”

“Mercury?”

“Chopin.”

“Oh, I’ll bet. You fucking stereotype.” Tony downed some coffee. “And yet you’re hiding teen fiction in your office.”

“Your point being?” Loki had returned to that flat tone of his like he didn’t want to be here. Like he was distancing himself.

“No point,” said Tony, before drinking coffee to hide behind his mug. He wasn’t sure where it had come from—the anger, maybe—but he sensed a creeping paranoia that he also couldn’t dismiss. Still, he could try to ignore it, so he asked, “Are you alright, Loki?”

Loki looked down. It looked like he was staring at Tony’s knees. “As I said, Mr. Stark, I’m fine.” His eyes snapped up suddenly. “Is Dr. Banner alright?”

“Oh. Uh…” Tony set his mug down. “I don’t know. I don’t think he was at his best last night, but he had to hang up. I’m not going to push him. If he’s up to talking, he’ll call.”

Loki nodded. “That’s…”

“What?”

The only response he got was Loki shaking his head. Tony could feel that weird paranoia increasing, though.

“Weird,” he said before he could stop himself.

“You seem on edge, Mr. Stark,” said Loki. It sounded almost bitter, but Tony really hoped he’d imagined that.

“Well, I mean. Yeah,” said Tony. “But I guess Bruce isn’t the only one who hasn’t been at his best recently. Maybe it’s—”

“Are you blaming your mood on Dr. Killian?” Loki asked curtly.

“Okay.” Tony smiled. He slid off the counter, forcing Loki to take a step back. “Not a morning person, I get it.”

Loki crossed his arms. “Somehow, I sense there’s something on your mind.

Fuck. _Fuck._ Tony really shouldn’t have watched that video. It had just stuck him in this awful fucking mood. And of course, Loki could tell. He’d probably seen it as soon as Tony woke up.

“You’re doing it again, you know,” said Tony.

“Doing what, Mr. Stark?”

“You know, being distant, or whatever. Except not by being polite this time. Which might be an improvement. I can’t tell.”

“I thought. Mr. Stark, we agreed by your rules to leave that alone.”

“Fine,” said Tony, “but since you’re the one who puts all that effort into whatever your demeanor is supposed to be, you’re the one who’s going to be mad at yourself for letting it go.”

Loki’s eyes flashed. “Where did that come from?”

Damn it. Tony was being an asshole, wasn’t he? And he did know that the bad mood wasn’t an excuse.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry,” Tony said. “You really don’t have to be in a good mood. I know I’m not.”

“Mr. Stark, if something—”

“I watched a clip of Killian on _The Sixteenth Wall_ ,” said Tony quickly, surprising himself. “Last night. You were asleep. It was probably stupid, but guess I couldn’t help it.”

“Are you sure that you wish to talk about this, Mr. Stark?”

Tony took a breath. “Yeah. I think I am. It’s probably the only way to get rid of this mood. I’m okay.”

Loki nodded. He took a step forwards, resting his hand on the counter again. “Go on.”

“Well…” Tony picked up his coffee and swallowed so much of it that he was surprised he didn’t choke. “I’m sorry, but I still think this is bullshit. Killian can sue me. Fine. But people autotuning the clip of what I said and going around on the internet calling themselves Starkettes and Killianites? It’s such bullshit.”

“So this is about Stark Smackdown?”

Tony laughed with unintentional bitterness. “I guess, maybe. I’m sure you could tell that was pissing me off. I know I've sort of said this already, but ... I know Killian was mad at me, but he was in the shadows for years, and then he comes out just to make sure that the whole world can call me an asshole? What’s that about? Killianites and Starkettes were not a thing before this lawsuit, Loki. No offense to him, or anything, but nobody cared about Aldrich Killian. I don’t think he wanted them to.”

Loki frowned. “There is a story to you two, I take it.”

“Yeah, a short one,” said Tony. “From my side, anyway. Maybe Killian has a lot more to say, but I’ve only got my side. I’ll tell you some time.”

Loki nodded.

“And anyway…” Tony realized he was still holding the mug. He almost dropped it onto the counter. It clattered. “I was thinking, last night, and I think I might be … I think this might be because of my friends. When Pepper first hired Romanoff, she kept going on about how so many lawyers have gotten sick of me and couldn’t deal with me anymore. And she was right, I guess. I mean like I said, Barton Romanoff’s got to value that I’m filthy rich, but…” He clicked his tongue. “It was all funny, it was all jokes, and I took it in my stride, but hell, even Romanoff said you were a good choice because you wouldn’t put up with my shit. Looking back on it now, I’m kind of pissed.”

Loki nodded again.

“I don’t know, Loki. They were laying it on pretty thick. Romanoff’s fine, she’s my lawyer and she’s got her business to think about, but Bruce is my friend and Pepper’s like family to me and I’m just supposed to fucking—I mean fuck, it’s like they had no faith in me at all. Everybody fucks up, don’t they? I refuse to believe that I fuck up more than the normal human amount. I’m just in the public eye so it sticks harder, maybe, I don’t know.”

Tony let it rest there. He suddenly realized how much had come up out of nowhere, how much he’d just thrown at Loki. Well, maybe it wasn’t from nowhere. Maybe it had been building up since he was served.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “That was a lot.”

For a long moment, there was nothing but Loki’s eyes on him. Loki’s unreadable expression. The suppressed noise of the city outside, faint and on some other planet. But there was something overwhelming about the look that Loki was giving him. It was all that Tony could focus on.

“I understand,” said Loki quietly.

Tony frowned. Loki wasn’t looking at him. Instead, his eyes were on his hands where it rested on the counter.

“I often feel,” said Loki, “that you couldn’t count all the catastrophic errors that my brother has made. But, for some reason, perhaps something in my nature, I always felt that my mistakes are judged more harshly. They held more weight. Barton says I’m melodramatic, but…” He looked up. “I understand.”

Tony nodded. “So, do you think our feelings there are well placed or are we both just drama queens?”

Loki smiled. A small, sad smile. “I couldn’t say.”

Tony laughed. Empty. He took his mug, poured out what was left of his coffee and ran the mug under water before throwing it to the side with a clatter to dry. With a nod from Loki, he did similar with his abandoned glass of water.

When he was done, resting his hands on the edge of the sink, Tony said, “It’s my fault they have no faith in me, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know how to answer that.”

Tony shrugged. “I know. I know. And you know they say this sort of thing, like with Killian, it could take upwards of a year. It could take years, in theory. I don’t want to be dealing with this for upwards of a fucking year.” Tony clicked his tongue. “But hey, that means that’s how long you’re stuck with me, right?”

Loki frowned. “Mm.”

“Maybe I get it.” Tony pushed himself away from the counter. “You know a bit about Rhodey, right? Colonel Rhodes, I guess you’d call him.”

“I assure you, Mr. Stark, I know only what I could guess. But I did see your guilt when he was mentioned.”

“Yeah, well. I fucked up with Rhodey to the point he won’t talk to me. I’ve given up trying. And he’s my best friend.” He grinned, still bitter. “Of course I could really hurt someone who doesn’t even like me. That’s another fun story too, by the way. Rhodey. I guess I should share that at some point as well.”

“It seems to distress you a great deal,” said Loki, “yet you rarely mention it.”

“Yeah, but you’re pretty good at that too,” Tony said. Again, more bitterly than intended. “Anyway, by the time you and I met he already wasn’t talking to me, so I don’t see why it’s worth dwelling on.”

“Mm,” Loki responded. “So, you’ve not apologized this friend?”

“No,” said Tony, throat dry, “I … can’t.” Tony took a step towards Loki, leaning in gently. “Bruce seems to worry that he’s just some Rhodey replacement, like I wouldn’t be his friend if I started talking to Rhodey again. He even got pretty mad about it, once. I guess I hinted at it by accident. But I really do care about Bruce.”

“I can tell.”

Tony smiled, trying to drop the anger that remained. Failing. “Thanks, Loki.”

“Mm.”

It was clear that the bad mood gripping Loki had worsened. Tony didn’t know what had caused it, but he could see the struggle there. It was only fair, given that Loki had allowed him to unload all that, that Tony asked, “Hey, are you okay? I mean, really. You don’t seem to be doing so great.”

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark. I…” Loki sighed. “I’ve done something foolish, haven’t I?”

“Uh.” Tony blinked. “I don’t know.”

“No, I have,” he said, not making eye contact. He seemed to be speaking to the countertop. “I do hate being naive.”

Tony swallowed. What the hell was he supposed to say? Well, actually, something hanging in the air told him that they were done here. He asked if Loki wanted to go home, promising that he didn’t need to accompany Loki inside, and received a nod and a thank you accompanied by a hollow smile.

x-x-x

They arrived at Loki’s house after a drive Tony that had filled with talk of who might be the superior _Enterprise_ captain out of desperation to avoid silence. He hated silence. Loki had seemed genuinely surprised at the question, acting like he had no idea what Tony was talking about. Tony, skeptical of that, had gone into his own analysis of the matter, pulling facts out of his ass as he went. Loki had listened, still clearly far from recovered from what was making him uncomfortable.

Of course Loki’s building was … it was such an empty fucking word, but, nice. Nice building. Nice neighborhood. Couldn’t be cheap, even by New York standards. The worst part of Tony’s mind couldn’t help but wonder how Loki managed it, as it seemed he’d had to ask Barton for help in paying back his uncle and—fuck. None of his business.

“Mr. Stark,” said Loki suddenly from the passenger seat, “might I ask you something? As your crisis consultant.”

“Oh, uh…” Tony shrugged. “Guess I broke down the wall already. Sure.”

Loki nodded. “You have been able to apologize to me on more than one occasion, and Dr. Banner assures me that you readily apologize to him if need be. And yet, you say that you’d be unable to apologize to Dr. Killian, Colonel Rhodes. But, why is that? Where is the difference?”

Tony sighed. Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck._

“Shit, I don’t know, Loki,” he said. He turned away, looking pointedly over the steering wheel. “I guess it’s just … With you, with Bruce. It’s different. It’s not a competition.”

“And it’s a competition with your friend?”

Tony shrugged. He turned to Loki, feeling his expression darken. “Yeah.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” said Loki.

“Of course.”

“And, my apologies,” Loki said.

“For what?”

“You’ll see. Thank you.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Tony smiled. “Last night wasn’t terrible, huh?”

“Quite,” said Loki.

And with that, he was gone. Tony barely registered it, just heard the thud of the shutting door. He watched Loki enter his building, waiting until the door was shut before pulling away.

x-x-x

What Tony didn’t expect when he returned home was to be grabbed on the upper arm by a neatly dressed Pepper and violently thrown onto the couch. It took him an embarrassingly long time to untangle his limbs and sit up straight. He should never have given her access to his apartment.

“And good morning, milady,” said Tony. “How are we today?”

“You went on a date with Loki.” She sat down beside him, her ponytail falling over her shoulder.

“Oh, are we in high school? I’m not sure that this information requires that you bruise my arm.”

“It does when you don’t tell me about it,” she said firmly. “What happened?”

Tony cleared his throat and held up his arms like he was about to begin a grand tale. “Okay, see. It went like this. On Friday, he asked me to dinner. Then yesterday we went to dinner.”

“Tony.” Pepper folded her arms.

“What? What do you want me to say? His brother was going to have to cancel a reservation, so we took it. It’s no big deal.”

“It’s no big deal,” she repeated, clearly skeptical.

“Yeah, it’s no big deal,” Tony insisted. His chest was tight. “How did you know about this?”

“Bruce told me,” Pepper said with a smile. “Yesterday morning. Told me not to disturb you.” She said the last part with a raised eyebrow, leaning in.

“Yet here you are.” Tony shook his head. “I can’t believe it. And you two were also conspiratorially gossiping about how _lonely_ I am, yeah?”

Pepper laughed. “I don’t know what he said to you. Honestly, I was just worried that you seemed lonely.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, Tony,” she said with a shrug. “You were giving me that impression. And you know I like Bruce, but you were spending _all_ your time with him and that worried me a little. I wasn’t expecting you to follow what Bruce said by going on a date with Loki. Though I don’t know why not, I suppose.”

“Bruce had this theory that I was flirting with him. And I wasn’t ‘following’ anything. I just…” He trailed off before “like him” could escape his lips.

“I can tell,” said Pepper. She was smiling. She knew him too well.

“What, not mad at me?” Tony found himself genuinely confused. “Not thinking it’s unprofessional to go on a date with your crisis manager?”

“Oh, in most ways, it’s probably a terrible idea,” said Pepper, “but I’m sure Loki’s in the right line of work to know how to handle it.”

“Sure.”

“Come on, Tony. Honestly, I think it’s good. You like someone and you went on a date with him. One date. Always worth a shot, right?”

Tony shrugged. He slouched in his seat. He didn’t know what to say. Sure, she was probably right—Pepper was usually right—and that had been his train of thought too. Strangely unnerving as all of it had been, how much could go wrong, really? What was the harm?

Scratching her arm idly, Pepper said, “So, you and Loki used a reservation that his brother couldn’t?”

“His older brother. Thor. I don’t know, I guess he and his girlfriend were busy or something,” Tony said.

“Wow,” said Pepper. “That’s such a boring story. Something that would happen in a real adult’s life. I’m proud of you.”

“Oh, shut up. I’m still just as emotionally immature as I was before thank you.” Tony crossed his arms, pouting. It was a joke, but hollow. In reality, Pepper’s words had brought him back to the conversation he had with Loki earlier. He was offended.

Pepper frowned. “I’ve caught you in a bad mood, haven’t I?”

Damn it. She really did know him too well.

“Little bit,” he muttered.

“Did it go badly, or something?”

“No, this is—this is me. My bad mood. My fault,” Tony said, but he didn’t want to tell her about the Killian video that had set it off, or about any of the bullshit he’d forced poor Loki to sit through. “It didn’t go badly. It just…” He sighed. He fell forwards, elbows coming to rest on his knees, recalling a comparison that he had made before. “Would you go on a date with Data?”

“From _Star Trek_?” Pepper asked with a frown.

“Yeah,” he said. Please, Pep, just accept that he was going somewhere with this.

“Uh, I don’t know. Better than a date with Lore, right?”

Tony thought for a moment, comparing the emotionless android to his colorfully megalomaniacal, if physically identical, brother. “Is it?”

Pepper seemed really confused now. “Isn’t it?”

Tony sat up straight. “You know how, when you talk to Loki, he sort of seems like he’s got this trained demeanor? Like he’s holding up a shield or pretending he’s not weighed down by a lifetime of emotional bullshit, or whatever the fuck.”

“I know that he’s polite,” said Pepper hesitantly.

“I’m just saying,” said Tony, “more than once last night, and I guess more this morning, it felt like Loki wasn’t actually there. Like he didn’t want to be there. Like…” He trailed off there.

“What are you trying to tell me, Tony?”

“I don’t know. I…” Something clicked. “He was freaking out. I can’t tell you exactly what was going on in his head, but something about the whole thing was getting to him, so I think he was trying to distance me to make himself feel better. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what was going on.”

Pepper nodded. “Maybe you should talk to him about that.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’d be much up for addressing it,” said Tony. “Sure, I was freaking out too, but I went because I wanted to be there.” He sighed for what felt like the millionth time. “Shit, I thought I was better at this.”

Pepper smiled sympathetically.

Scratching his head, Tony said quietly, “I didn’t want to say anything to him about it, because I felt like enough of an ass as it was, but I’m pretty sure that was Loki’s first date in a while. Like, a while a while. Kind of felt like a lot of pressure. And there’s…” He realized that he was about to share information that Loki definitely wouldn’t permit. “There’s other stuff.”

“You’re both grownups. I’m sure you can handle it,” Pepper said. She nodded towards him. “Nice t-shirt.”

Tony chuckled, grateful for the change of subject. “I know, you don’t have to tell me. I’m beautiful. And to think that Loki didn’t appreciate it.” He frowned, noting, “Hey, what’s that you’re sitting on?”

Pepper looked down. She shifted and pulled a tie out from under her legs. Inspecting it, she said, “I don’t recognize this.”

“Oh yeah. That’s Loki’s said Tony, and when Pepper raised her eyebrow, “God, why does everybody keep doing that? I’ll have you know we were strictly—yeah.” He grabbed the tie off her and hung it over his shoulders. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

“Shouldn’t you?”

Tony shrugged. He flung the tie around his neck as if it were a scarf. “I’m too smart and rich to ever have to work another day in my life, see.”

“Yeah. So am I.”

Pepper stood. She pulled on the bottom of her skirt, removing the wrinkles, before turning to Tony and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Do let me know if you run off and marry Loki in Vegas, okay?”

“I’ll handle the comedy, Potts. You handle—”

“Everything else?”

“Yeah. That.”

Pepper smiled. “I’ll see you later, Tony.”

Tony nodded, but when Pepper was halfway across the room he said, “Oh, Loki says not to publish that article I wrote. He didn’t say why, but—”

“It’s okay. We’ll make sure it stays with us,” Pepper said. “It was pretty terrible anyway.”

“Thank you!” said Tony with a grin. “I tried.

Pepper waved goodbye and was gone. Alone, Tony found a tablet and dug out the article. He had to admit that it was pretty dry. A dull array of facts and figures that he certainly wouldn’t want to read. Loki had said to make sure it didn’t see the public eye, and he’d obey that. It was probably for the best. But _why_ had Loki told him to keep it to himself? He hadn’t mentioned it again. Tony would call and ask, but there was still a vibe of awkward that made him not want to be the first to call.

God. Seriously. Was he in high school?

Tony’s mind was stuck on Killian again. It had to be something to do with Killian, right? That’s why Loki had asked for permission to talk about it. Was it some text or email he’d been sent? Or would Tony be able to find it online somewhere? Fuck, he didn’t want to know.

Feeling that rage brewing again, he got his phone connected to the speakers and blasted the Stark Smackdown remix. What else could make him feel better? It created the perfect atmosphere to sit and stew in it all, under the guise of considering Betty and her loose arm—the catapult, not Bruce’s ex. It really was bullshit, too, because if Tony hadn’t started using her as a distraction then he’d have finished her in less than a week.

It was much later, mid-afternoon, when Tony was looking through his kitchen and finding many cans of _nothing_ that his music was interrupted by several alerts in fairly quick succession. When they stopped, Tony checked them and quickly became apprehensive. They were all texts from Loki. What the hell did he need so many text messages to say?

He opened them up and, having stopped the music to focus, read through them all quickly. He cracked a smile before he was through the first one. Despite everything, he couldn’t help it, and the second he was done reading he called Loki.

“Hello, Mr. Stark.”

“Yeah, hey,” said Tony, still on the tail end of laughter. “You just send me like six paragraphs in legalese about the specifics of a lawyer changing a lightbulb.”

“I thought perhaps you would be uncomfortable following my departure. And whatever the other circumstances may be, Mr. Stark, we still have to work with each other.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right,” said Tony. Loki might have returned to that dry politeness, but as his mood seemed lighter Tony would definitely take the trade off. “Thanks, by the way. That cheered me up.

“I’m glad.”

Smiling, Tony leaned back against the counter. “Still think you did something, uh, foolish?”

“I…” Silence, then, “Mr. Stark, might I ask you something?”

Given what had followed the same question earlier, Tony could only dread what might be ahead. But, brave billionaire he was, and all, he said, “Sure.”

“I know that your ill mood today followed watching that clip of Dr. Killian, and I admit that has me nervous,” Loki said. “You may well have to deal with Dr. Killian directly soon, Mr. Stark. Are you prepared to do that?”

Tony looked down at the floor. He focused on the lines between the tiles, a weak contrast in color, as an attempt to ground himself. It didn’t really work.

“Mr. Stark,” Loki prompted.

Tony took a deep breath. “Yeah. I think so.”

“Very well. I’ve no doubt it will be fine, Mr. Stark.”

“Thanks,” said Tony. “You, uh, you left your tie here, by the way. I might be sort of wearing it like a scarf right now.”

“And I’ve no doubt that Dr. Killian is trembling with fear.”

“Don’t be an ass.” He’d taken that more personally than he’d of liked. “But I look great. Better than my Republican tie, right?”

“Right.”

“Yeah. And, hey. I got you and Romanoff on my side. What’s there to worry about?” said Tony. “I’m ready for the Killian thing, Loki. I mean, ready as I’ll ever be.”

Loki assured him once again that everything would be okay, then submitted to an audio tour of Tony’s cupboards before hanging up ten minutes later. Worried—a little bit, or whatever—that something was still bothering Loki, Tony put Stark Smackdown on and used it as an aid to prepare himself for seeing Killian—and he would see him, not hide behind Romanoff. He should be the best client that he could be. Give Loki one less thing to worry about. It would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a lot more work in the near future, but because of that, I've stepped up my organization so carving out editing time won't be so tough. Thanks as always for reading, guys! You're all awesome.


	12. Betwixt and Between

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Loki hears about what Odin did, he begins to fear that he's overreaching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another chapter that didn't want to be edited, but here it is! And I'm excited, too, because I've been looking forward to getting to this part of the story for ages. Hope you enjoy!

Loki stood behind his desk. A neatly stacked pile sat on its corner. There was a magazine from shortly after the defamation incident, a photograph of Aldrich Killian in a white suit on its cover; a folded newspaper containing a story about a case that Odin diligently saw through; a weather-worn, laminated flyer emblazoned with the words “ODIN BORSON IS NOT OUR FRIEND”, the photograph attached being one of Odin meeting with a businessman who was long suspected of being a drug dealer. Loki thumbed through all the papers, assessing where the information fit in with all the other data in his mind. He kept his phone to his ear as he worked.

“I was wondering if I’d hear from you,” said Thor on the other end of the line. “Forgive me, but—”

“It was fine, Thor. I assure you,” said Loki. He moved the flyer and revealed a science and technology magazine that, according to Maria Hill, had cut an article about Killian's MIA from publication. “And he was the perfect gentleman.”

“Mm.” Clearly no amusement. “You … you didn’t tell me it was Tony Stark, brother.”

Loki felt a momentary constriction in his chest. He found a newspaper clipping praising Odin’s actions during a 2012 case and scanned it.

“Oh, did I not? I’m sorry.”

“He’s…”

“Yes, brother?” Loki prompted.

“He’s your client.”

“Stark Industries is, correct.”

“He’s older than you.”

Loki dropped the newspaper clipping, straightening. “Thank you … for that.”

“I’m only saying, brother. But you said he was—?”

“A gentleman? Yes,” said Loki. He didn’t look up at the sound of the door clicking open. “Forgive me. Mr. Stark has commented on my tendency to interrupt.”

As Heimdall shut the door behind himself, Thor said, “I never noticed.”

“Nor did I. And how did you hear about it being Mr. Stark?”

“It came out of the USAO,” said Thor. “I missed the opportunity to speak to Phil, and it is all that Mr. Fitz is talking about.”

“Well, that’s certainly unsettling,” said Loki. Heimdall shook his head. “Forgive me, brother, but I need to have a word with Heimdall.”

“Oh. Of course,” Thor said quickly. “I hope we have a chance to speak soon.”

“By all means, if you need further reassurance that Mr. Stark is not too old,” Loki said. And, following a quick farewell, Thor hung up.

Loki dropped his phone into his pocket and took a seat at his desk. Heimdall, without a word, crossed the room and sat on the seat across from him. It was too familiar a scene.

“So, Heimdall,” said Loki. “Insider trading.”

Heimdall’s expression was rigidly neutral. “I wondered if I’d hear from you.”

“You would have. I was busy.”

“Indeed,” Heimdall said, eyeing the papers on Loki’s desk. “We should have a conversation.”

“We should.” Loki leaned back, crossing his arms. “Odin wishes to know why Phil Coulson has been pursuing him, and if Laufey is involved. And, if Coulson does have anything, I’d assume that you know what.”

Heimdall frowned. “Do you not know what occurred after the campaign?”

“I know the aftermath. Natasha paid me to deal with the aftermath.”

“But she doesn’t know what happened,” Heimdall said.

“She doesn’t. I doubt Sergeant Barnes shares much with her, at least in that area. I’m sure that you and Odin only took notice of my business there because I was dealing with Sergeant Barnes’s precinct.”

Heimdall regarded Loki for a long moment. His eyes were dark. Loki recognized the expression. He had seen it too many times before. Finally, fingers linked together in a manner that reminded Loki of his mother, Heimdall said, “You may be right.”

Loki nodded. He moved his chair forwards and came to rest his elbows on his desk. “So tell me what happened.”

“Did Odin really not? It was he who asked you to address this.”

“There is no corruption,” said Loki, doing his best impression of Odin. Then, “Please, Heimdall. I can’t do as he asks if I’ve been under-informed.”

“Very well,” Heimdall murmured. He eyed the papers on Loki’s desk for a moment, then straightened them. “It was Raze, the man who took over when Laufey left his business, who managed your father’s campaign initially.”

“I recall,” said Loki, as Heimdall returned a loose pen to its pot.

“I’ve known Raze for much of my career. He has a cunning mind,” said Heimdall. From Loki, such an assessment was a compliment. From Heimdall, it certainly wasn’t. “I never did know to what extent. It was because of this cunning that Odin asked for his aid. He wanted a man who was ruthless enough, honest enough, and bitter enough. He was determined to do right by the D.A.’s office, and believed that the best way to gain the position was with a campaign manager like Raze.”

Loki could only assume that that was part of why he had been asked onto the campaign. Perhaps it was why Odin had said that he only trusted Loki with the Coulson issue. Perhaps Loki had already known this.

Heimdall continued with, “However, as I’m sure you know, Raze was loyal to Laufey. One would assume that a poached campaign worker is untrustworthy, always, but Laufey never poached Raze. He was never on our side. He left the campaign to help Laufey and Odin had to rework his strategy.”

“Mm. He never did thank me for that.”

“Loki. Please,” said Heimdall. He held up Loki’s stapler, maintaining brutal eye contact until Loki took it and returned it to a desk drawer. “Regardless, I remained in contact with Raze for a time. I’ve known him for decades. I didn’t believe our relationship irrevocably fractured. I met with him and we discussed business. I thought little of it. When we later acquired one of Laufey’s businesses, the value of shares greatly increased. As expected. But, Raze had shares that I’d known of, now of increased value.”

Loki nodded, running through all that Heimdall had told him. He believed that it made sense. “I take it that you gave him information which prompted him to buy said shares.”

“I believed I was speaking to a friend,” said Heimdall. “I have a fiduciary responsibility to the Asgard Group, Loki, and regardless of whether I knew Raze would take whatever actions he did, it was likely that blame would fall on me. It worsened when Raze caught wind of federal involvement.”

“In what sense?”

“It was a matter of my word against his. I’m afraid I can’t tell you precisely what actions he took, but he secured his safety by sacrificing mine.” He sighed. “The Asgard Group only has a sterling reputation with some, I’m afraid. Many are ready to believe we are continually doing wrong.”

Loki wanted to be surprised, but he wasn’t. He said quietly, “And this suspicion in your direction led to Odin’s involvement?”

“I wish I could tell you all that he did,” said Heimdall, possibly dishonestly, “but he’s been reluctant to tell even me anything. He discovered that Raze had a favorable deal, and—I’m afraid I don’t know. I do know that he met a large number of people in Brooklyn. While there he spoke with your Sergeant Barnes, and next I’m aware of any suspicions against me seemed to dissipate. It was … difficult to accept.”

“He’s not my Sergeant Barnes,” said Loki curtly. “But, unfortunately—and taken at his word, not by choice—his record is far from clean. He has rather an unsavory history, shall we say. He has connections everywhere, but many of them are with people a police officer probably shouldn’t.”

Heimdall blinked. Loki could see realization hitting him. Had he really been ignorant of this? If so, it had to be willful ignorance, something which in most circumstances Loki would never attribute to Heimdall.

“So, if I’m understanding this correctly,” Loki began, “Raze thought he was likely in trouble for his actions and went to whoever would allow him leniency. Odin believed that you were in trouble and went to Sergeant Barnes for … aid.”

“But my wrongdoing, if we argue that it is such, was federal.”

“As I say, Barnes knows people everywhere. And, doing as he did in Brooklyn, Odin provided himself with safe distance,” Loki said. “I should say, Heimdall, I was helping Sergeant Barnes’s precinct because of a rumor that he was involved in the suppression of evidence. It came to nothing, but we both know that rumor can offer be worse than actuality.”

Heimdall nodded, grave. “Are we to take it that this is the information that Phil Coulson has?”

“Perhaps, but I’ve not spoken to Mr. Coulson so I can’t be certain of much. An associate of his did find me and express concern at Coulson’s vigor, however. To be honest, I’m surprised you know so little.”

“You know that Odin is a private man,” said Heimdall. “Do let me know if you need any help.”

“Of course,” said Loki, skeptical. “As I said, Odin’s specific concern was if Laufey was involved.”

Heimdall nodded. “He may be. Raze was the one who—”

“I was concerned that it was paranoia,” said Loki quickly. “He showed suspicion that his phones were being monitored.”

Heimdall shook his head, standing. When he spoke, it was a quiet, “Good luck.”

“Thank you. You’ll forgive me if it’s a short while before I make progress. I’ll have to focus on Mr. Stark’s case.”

“I do hope you’re not overreaching.”

Loki smiled. “Of course not.”

Heimdall nodded and walked to the door. Hand poised to open it, he said, “I notice that you’ve focused more on your demeanor recently.”

Loki swallowed. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“How does he take that?”

“Mr. Stark shows no objection,” Loki lied.

“I wasn’t talking about Mr. Stark,” said Heimdall. “Your son misses you, I hear.”

He left without another word.

Loki sighed. He fell back in his seat, gaze falling idly to the stack of magazines and papers on the desk. He sighed again, more sharply this time, and shoved them into a drawer.

This was absurd. All of it. It was absurd. There was no part of Loki that wanted to believe that Odin would do such a thing, and yet there was little surprise. He had known that it had to be something like this, of course, but the reality of it was more than he wanted to deal with. That Odin would break his own strict code, even for Heimdall, wasn’t something that Loki wanted to accept, and Loki couldn’t blame alcohol as he had with Tony and the drunken kiss.

Perhaps the problem was that Odin and Heimdall were friends—if they were friends, though Loki rarely saw them in such light. Friendship could prompt such a break of personal code. That was what friendship was, no? A selective and illogical importance placed on some above others. Odin might have few close, actual friends, but perhaps he would cross the line for them in a way that he wouldn’t for his sons.

Loki’s phone beeped with a text alert. He checked it to see “Tony ;)” on the screen and returned the phone to his pocket.

Tony was a dedicated friend, and his friends meant a great deal to him. Even Dr. Banner appeared of great importance, singing Tony’s praises himself, despite the two having known each other for a comparatively brief time. It was obvious how deeply Tony was hurt by his friends not having faith in him, by having disappointed Colonel Rhodes. He cared about his friends, and he wanted to be good enough for them.

But then, whatever he thought of himself, Tony had his morals. And standards because of those morals. It was interesting. Aldrich Killian certainly didn’t meet those standards. Clint probably would. Natasha might not. Loki, on the other hand … No. This train of thought, too, was absurd.

The weekend didn’t matter, certainly not in the long run. Tony confessing all that he had to Loki didn’t matter. Tony loved his friends, yes. He would never be Loki’s friend.

x-x-x

To sound of the familiar chime, Loki stepped out of the elevator into the reception of Barton Romanoff. It was relatively empty this afternoon, just one woman waiting. Loki saw no sign of Clint or Natasha, but he did receive a nod from Maria Hill as she walked by him before ducking into the elevator.

Perhaps because the situation with Odin was still on his mind, Loki spotted on a coffee table an old legal magazine with an older picture of Odin on its cover. He couldn’t help but sit and open it to examine the contents.

It was an issue from several years ago, detailing what it could of the first notable case of Odin’s D.A. career before branching out into a discussion of his rise to office. It noted how Odin sought no conflict, waiting for the previous District Attorney to confirm that he was retiring before making any (public) comment on wanting the position. They counted his public endorsements, highlighting a former mayor, a congressman, and a noted feminist journalist. Then, at the tail end of the article, they mentioned that Odin lived with his wife, two sons, and grandson.

Loki almost shook his head. This magazine was an almost laughable time capsule. At the very least, it had been motivating.

“He’s a hero,” came a female voice.

Loki looked up and saw a neatly dressed woman sitting on the nearest seat, the one that Loki had occupied when Tony, worried, had grabbed his arm. It was difficult to tell with her sitting, but Loki’s snap estimation was that she was taller than Tony, and he cursed his brain for the comparison.

“Not to interrupt your train of thought,” the woman continued, “but even I have to admit I admire him. He doesn’t allow criminals slack that they don’t deserve.”

“Indeed,” said Loki. He returned the magazine to the table. “My father takes his job seriously.”

The woman looked surprised for only a moment before saying, “I thought I recognized you.”

Loki smiled. “Mr. Borson appreciates your support.”

As the woman nodded, Loki heard, “And that goes double because you’re a defense attorney, I’m sure,” and looked around to see Clint.

“I recall that he had your support,” Loki said.

“That he did. Glad we’re playing nice, by the way. You here to see Nat?” And, when Loki nodded, “She’s in with a client right now, but you can keep me company.” He leaned to the side and said to the dark haired woman, “Sharon shouldn’t be keeping you waiting. You know where her office is.”

“I’ll wait. She’ll like that.”

“Suit yourself. Come on, Odinson,” said Clint, beckoning. “Good to see you again, Ms. Walters.”

“And you,” she said with a smile.

Clint nodded, Loki imitating, and led Loki to his office. Loki caught sight of Natasha speaking to a client in the opposite office before Clint shut the glass door behind both of them and closed the gray blinds. Loki accepted direction to the couch, while Clint settled against the side of his desk.

“I got the money to your uncle,” Clint said. Loki chose not to comment on its suddenness. “I’m hoping that he won’t say anything about it. Laura was was a little worried about you, I won’t lie.”

“He’ll not say anything. He’ll be glad of the repayment.”

“Mm. Am I allowed to ask what the hell is up with this? It was Thor who made the damn hole in the wall, wasn’t it?”

Loki felt his jaw clench. “I’d not take Thor’s money.”

“Fine, fine.” Clint held up his hands. “But, why did you ask for help with this payment and … nothing else?”

“That money was offered with no request for it, and in all honesty, it did allow me some leniency with rent.” Loki sighed. “I can’t remain there long. The lease is…” He sighed again, lacing his fingers together. “I can’t remain there long.”

“So, will you have to go back home?”

“My apartment is home.” Loki considered for a moment. He then said, with all sincerity, “Thank you, Barton.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Clint with a nod. He looked over his shoulder nervously, despite the closed blinds.

“Are you alright?”

Clint sighed. “You know, Odinson, sometimes I really don’t like it here. Seeing Ms. Walters out there just reminded me how … political everything can be. When we started this firm, we said we’d run it until it stopped being fun.” He looked at Loki with almost ludicrous intensity. “It’s not so fun anymore.”

“You chose this business, Barton.”

“I know that,” said Clint. “But me and Nat, we didn’t exactly work our way up from the bottom, did we? We used Fury’s name. You know we did. We only took his name off the wall because it was causing him conflict on the bench. Not to mention ex-clients of Odin’s came here from their old firms because—shit. You know why. I didn’t build this.”

“That isn’t fair, Barton. You just think this is—”

“Bullshit? Yeah. Yeah, I do.” Clint shook his head, hitting both hands against his desk with finality. “Ah, it’s my fault anyway. I know I should never have agreed to this.” He cocked his head, unblinking as he muttered, “I don’t like guilty people.”

Loki swallowed. His blood chilled. An image of the trouble he could find himself in if Coulson got what he wanted flashed through his mind. He couldn’t stop it. He didn’t allow it to be obvious. He laughed and said, “Clint Barton: prosecutor.”

“Don’t laugh at me, you ass,” Clint said, but he laughed too. “Hey, I could’ve ended up working for your dad. If I had been on the other side, I mean.”

“I’m on this side, and still doing work for Odin,” said Loki.

“S’pose so,” said Clint with a shrug. “But hey, better the D.A. than Stark Industries. Though, not for you, I guess,” he added with a smirk.

“Was that a joke?”

“Of course not.”

“We’re not talking about this, Barton.”

“Fine. But I’ve been picturing horrible things, and that’s on you,” Clint said. He stood up straight, crossed his office uncovered the door. “Looks like Nat’s done.”

Loki nodded, though Clint wasn’t looking in his direction.

“I really didn’t want the Stark case, you know,” said Clint, turning to Loki. “Guilty people, and all. I do get to avoid them sometimes. That’s why Nat agreed to deal with it.”

“So I assumed,” said Loki. Clint, with his preference for family law, was clearly the civil lawyer of the partnership.

“We’re on the wrong side of this, Loki. Killian’s not Barton Romanoff. Killian  _did_ build himself up from nothing. Stark had no right to claim that he was an idea thief or anything like that.”

“I know.”

“Dunno what’s wrong with him. He’s got everything a guy could want, and…” He frowned, suddenly. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Loki hadn’t been aware that he was looking at Clint “like” anything. He thought for a moment, then said, “You don’t know Mr. Stark, Barton.”

There was silence, then a faint clicking noise as Clint took hold of the door handle.

“Huh,” said Clint, finally. “You like him.”

He opened the door. He seemed to catch someone’s eye and beckoned. Moments later, Natasha was in the room. Clint quickly took a seat on the couch beside Loki as if trying to get out of Natasha’s way.

“You’re late,” said Natasha.

“You were busy,” Loki answered.

“So interrupt me.” She claimed the seat behind Clint’s desk. “It never used to bother you.”

Loki smiled. “Mr. Stark did point out my tendency to interrupt people.”

“Oh, I see. You work on things that _he_ points out.” She was smirking.

Loki shook his head as if participating with the joke. In reality, he suddenly felt rather sick. He wished that he didn’t have to bring Tony up.

“So, I guess Tony’s what you’re here about,” said Natasha.

“Of course.”

Natasha nodded, sighing. “I thought you knew more about the Killian situation than you did. Or at the very least, I thought you’d read my email.”

“I did read your email.”

“A little later than I expected.” She sighed again. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It almost was. Mr. Stark just declined to publish an article about the military and private contractors.”

“Ah.” She chuckled, empty. “See, we didn’t even know this until Maria found it, though we would have found it eventually, but Killian lost some contracts with the military after Tony’s comments. The only thing is that if they come after us for any amount, it’ll be to do with that. Tony can cover it.”

“Unless Dr. Killian took it personally.” Loki cleared his throat. “And, by what I know of him, I would assume that he did.”

“Frankly, I don’t know what else we could have expected. The military is just about the only group that still has Tony in their good books anymore.”

“Well,” said Loki stiffly with an awkward shrug.

Natasha shook her head. “And how precisely did you manage to miss that email, anyway? That’s not like you.”

Loki fell back in his seat. “I was distracted.”

Natasha nodded. She was leaning back as if trying to look nonchalant, but her eyes betrayed concern. Loki wanted to laugh—at himself—but refrained.

“Distracted,” Natasha repeated, slowly. “That’s not like you either.”

Loki shrugged.

“I think you’re stretched a little thin there, Odinson,” Clint agreed.

“I’m not—”

“Odinson,” Clint insisted.

“I’m not worrying,” Natasha said. “I’m just saying that you had enough on your mind already, and now you’re doing work that you don’t even want to do. And I don’t have to know the details to know that this is a big deal. And Odin’s problem.”

Clint nodded in agreement, expression dark.

“I was already involved in—” Loki coughed. “Something connected to this.”

“And was that something Odin’s problem?” Natasha asked.

Loki shrugged again. He might even admit to feeling rather pathetic.

Clint patted Loki’s shoulder awkwardly. “Just do us a favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Pick a direction and walk in it,” said Clint. And he said it harshly like he didn’t care. “You’re a little old for this directionless crap.”

Loki laughed. He couldn’t help it.

“Anyway,” said Clint, “if you’re just dealing with Stark and Killian then we get to spend more time together.”

“Oh, good,” said Loki flatly.

Clint chuckled. “Yeah. And having Stark around has gone pretty well for you, right?”

Loki looked down at his hands. He cracked his knuckles as if it were a greatly considered, and difficult action. “I’m not certain.”

“Oh, God.” Clint slid forward in his seat, hands coming to rest on the couch’s edge. “You put us through this anxiety and now you’re angsting? No fucking fair, Odinson. People have bad dates. Don’t sulk.”

“I didn’t, and I’m not,” said Loki. “But I shouldn’t have done it.”

“We could’ve told you that,” said Clint.

“Clint,” Natasha murmured.

“Okay. Sorry.” Uncomfortably, Clint’s hand returned to Loki’s shoulder. “But I’m just gonna say, no one can exactly claim that he’s out of your league.”

“Thank you,” said Loki with raised eyebrow, and Clint removed his hand like Loki was on fire. Loki turned to Natasha and said, “Mr. Stark is convinced that Dr. Killian is of … shall we say, ‘weak moral character’?”

“Yes! Let’s!” said Clint with enthusiasm. He stood and stretched his arms. “And Stark’s just a lovely guy, is he?”

Loki blinked. “Mr. Stark is … nice.”

“Mm,” said Clint. He took a step towards Natasha, leaned down and whispered, “Loki’s in love.” He then stood straight and said, “So, we’re still agreed that we’re okay as long as everybody behaves themselves?”

“I suppose,” said Natasha. She lapsed into a discussion of strategy. Clint, though not as willing a member of Tony’s legal team, listened as he returned to leaning against his desk. He would always help Natasha.

Loki said nothing. He was concerned that they could hardly guarantee good behavior. He knew that Tony had no desire to cause unnecessary trouble, but his tendency to do just that was what had caused this situation in the first place. But, regardless, Loki found himself trusting Tony’s assessments—and not trusting Aldrich Killian.

Saying something with uninterested tone about depositions, Clint began looking at something on his computer. Natasha was watching Loki, but that wasn’t what was making him uncomfortable. In fact, he had yet to recover from Clint’s first mention of Tony, and the feeling of anxiety had only worsened.

“You don’t think you’re good enough for him,” said Natasha suddenly. Loki noticed Clint look up.

“I’m sorry?” said Loki, aware that his voice was sharper than intended.

“You think he’s a good person, you think that you’re not, and you think good people should be with good people,” she said. There was a certain detachment to her tone. It was almost clinical.

“We are definitely not talking about this,” Loki said firmly.

“Whatever you say,” said Natasha. “I was just making an observation.”

“Mm.”

Loki stood and made his way to the door without a word. However, he was stopped by Clint saying, “If he likes you, and I guess he does, or whatever, which … gross.” A cough. “Anyway, if he likes you, I’m sure there’s a reason.”

“But you wouldn’t know what that reason is, I assume,” said Loki.

Clint smiled. “Of course not.”

Loki shook his head and departed, making eye contact with no one as he walked. When he made it to the elevator he felt as if he was escaping. He should have phoned Natasha. Why had he allowed himself to give in to the temptation to see her in person? It clearly hadn’t helped as the naive part of his brain had anticipated.

He hardly wanted to join the party of paranoia, but he couldn’t help but feel as if that were a preplanned piece of advice. Whatever he and Natasha said about not worrying about one another, Clint and Natasha had been concerned for Loki for a long while. And perhaps they were right. Perhaps he was forcing himself to deal with too much. He certainly wasn’t enjoying having the mess—the absurd, ridiculous mess—of Odin and Phil Coulson on his mind.

It was easy to understand why Tony had wanted a break from dealing with everything, though Loki wasn’t sure if he should assume that he understood the specifics of Tony’s distaste. And Loki had been trying to avoid thinking about the weekend, but now he couldn’t help it.

How precisely had Loki expected that weekend to go? He hadn’t even been sure that he wanted to have that weekend. He had only been sure that he wanted to keep Thor at a distance from the Coulson debacle. And what Natasha had caught … that was the aftermath of the emotional fragility that Loki had witnessed from Tony on Sunday. Loki had, now, an even better view of the kind of man that Tony was.

Perhaps Natasha’s assessment had been correct.

As Loki entered the lobby, his phone rang. Loki half expected it to be Tony and was more than prepared not to answer. However, when he saw the name on the screen, he answered the call, finding a spot where he could lean against the wall in the nearly empty lobby.

“Hello, Mr. Nelson,” he said cheerfully, tone entirely affected. “I must say, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”

“Ew. Foggy, please,” said Nelson quickly. “If you don’t call me Foggy we’re gonna have a problem.”

Loki gave an empty chuckle. “Very well. Foggy.”

“Yeah, I was right. That’s not better,” Nelson said. “I just thought I’d tell you that I went to that, uh, suit guy of yours.”

“Did you indeed?”

“I did! And I look great, thank you. I will be honest with you, though. That guy is terrifying.”

“Yes, I will admit that.” Loki inspected his suit jacket. “I’ll also admit that I’m less convinced that nobody died in this suit.”

“I’m never wrong.” A moment’s pause. “Oh! Speaking of which, are we intending to partake in some smack talk?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I’m just saying, rich kid. My guy’s got your guy.”

Loki let out another breath of laughter. This time, he found, it was genuine. “So, I see that you didn’t call just to tell me that you got a suit.”

“Well, that too,” said Nelson, “but to be honest, I wanted to see if I should be nervous.”

“Miss Romanoff is Mr. Stark’s lawyer,” Loki reminded him.

“Yeah, but I’ve worked with her before. And you have an  _accent_ , you know? Maybe I’m intimidated.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re not.”

“Okay, well, I had fun talking to you when we last ran into each other. Didn’t you have fun?”

“I suppose so.”

“Right. So it’s only fair that I let you know I got a suit from your suit guy. And your client is screwed.”

Loki laughed again. “Ah. Well. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” said Nelson. “In all seriousness, though. Thank you. You actually really helped me out.”

Loki straightened, surprised. “Of course.”

“Yeah.” Something in Nelson’s tone gave Loki the impression that he was nervous. “Oh, there’s my partner. See you round, maybe?”

“Perhaps,” said Loki.

Nelson hung up without a proper goodbye, and Loki stood still for a moment, pondering. He had been struck by the spontaneity—and brevity—of the call, but he didn’t know Nelson well enough to assume that it was peculiar. It was certainly … interesting.

Phone in his hand as it was, Loki remembered the unopened text from Tony. He was still hesitant, but he had to make a decision. He pushed everything to do with Odin—and the fresh conversation with Nelson—out of his mind and chose to focus on this.

  
[From: Tony ;)  
11:47

 _Would you hate me if I said I was wearing a red tie today? It turns out that I don’t own as many ties as a guy as rich as me should._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
14:32

 _You’re not making any television appearances, are you?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:33

 _You know, I find you a lot easier to trust when you’re being a sarcastic son of a bitch._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:33

 _Sorry if I freaked you out on Sunday, by the way._ _I know we’ve spoken since then, but I felt like I should say it._ ]  
  
  
Once again, Loki was struck by Tony’s willingness to apologize. And of Tony’s claim that his inability to apologize to Killian, and to his friend Rhodes, was down to the situation of “competition.” He did wish that he didn’t find Tony so intriguing.

  
[To: Tony ;)  
14:36

 _I assure you, there’s no need to apologize. May I ask again, for my own state of mind, if you’re prepared to deal with with the lawsuit?_ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:37

 _Like I said. Ready as I’ll ever be._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:38

 _Mind if I talk to you about something, if you’re not busy_ _? To be honest, I think I want to tell you what happened with Rhodey before Killian, or whatever._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
14:40

 _Of course, Mr. Stark_. ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:40

 _Great! Where are you?_ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
14:41

 _The lobby of the Barton Romanoff building_. ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:42

 _Right. Well. I’m just gonna … pick you up in ten minutes. Because I’m weirdly, suspiciously close to you. Obviously._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:42

 _I ran away from Pepper._ ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Just thought I'd remind you again that you guys are awesome, and you totally keep me going.


	13. Rock and a Hard Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or: "Backstories and Emotional Constipation"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, here's the Rhodey story. This chapter, thankfully, was quite willing to be finished. That's a rarity.

Tony was surprised by how impulsively he’d announced that he was going to wander up and collect Loki, though he was more surprised by how readily Loki had agreed to come along. Loki didn’t seem like the type for impulsivity. Tony had lied to him, too. A little bit. Not in a way that mattered.

Tony had actually been at Bruce’s apartment. He’d just been relieved that Bruce was willing to see him, so he could be sure that he wasn’t fucking dead. Bruce hadn’t been at his best, either. His apartment, which was small and messy, had been darkened by drapes covering all the windows. It was a mess, too. Tony had faith that he was okay, he just hadn’t recovered from his tough weekend yet. He hadn’t wanted to talk about himself, either. He’d sat on the floor in front of his couch and insisted that Tony talk about Tony. Didn't that just make a change?

So, after Bruce was unresponsive to Tony’s commentary of Bruce’s watch history (his profile on Tony’s Netflix was fascinating, there was no denying it) Tony asked, “How many dates do you think you have to go on with someone to be, like, dating in the present tense?”

Beside him, unblinking as he stared the nothing on his TV, Bruce said, “Don’t you think you’re a little old to be asking questions like that?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s more than one, probably. Try for, I don’t know, a few. See how you feel.” He took off his glasses and looked at Tony. “If you can get him to put up with you for that long.”

“Fuck you. I’m irresistible.”

“Mm.” Bruce put his glasses on the couch behind him. “Do you mind if I go to bed?”

Tony blinked. “It’s the middle of the day.”

“Yeah. I don’t feel great.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure. Of course. But didn’t you have—?”

“I didn’t get that interview, Tony,” said Bruce, standing. “I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, you do that.” Tony wasn’t sure else what to say. He tried to perk up. He grinned. “Goodnight, Princess.”

Bruce smiled, but vanished to his bedroom with barely a goodbye. Tony turned off the TV and exited the apartment quietly. The problem was that he then found himself driving to nowhere. He knew that he could go to work on that sketch he’d started, but his mind was stuck in a thousand mile per hour a loop of worrying. And guilt. Fucking guilt. How had he not known what to say? He’d been okay when Bruce had called him. Why was this different?

And then, of course, the train of thought derailed and he went back to Rhodey. It was his own fault, wasn’t it? He’d mentioned Rhodey to Loki at the weekend. He’d been thinking about his friends since then. How he felt that lack of faith, even if they did care about him, and how that was his own fault. He should have known what to say to Bruce, shouldn’t he? So, on impulse, with a small lie to save Bruce’s privacy, he’d texted Loki and asked for permission to bother the man with more of his shit.

So there he and Loki were, in the same diner where Bruce had expressed his concern (as Tony politically put it for his own sanity). Tony was assessing his surroundings from the corner. He was pulling at his red tie. There was almost nobody in there. Loki, who had his back to his room and a mineral water, looked underwhelmed and underslept.

“Seriously, mineral water?” Tony said. He was trying not to let the mood die. This wasn’t a time for a shitty horror movie. And, well, there was the fact that he didn’t want to be a drama queen.

“I don’t do coffee,” said Loki.

Tony chuckled. “No, of course you don’t. Don’t know what I see in you.”

Loki just stared at him, expression blank.

“Is it my Rush Limbaugh cosplay?” Tony asked, tugging on his tie. “Is that what’s bugging you?”

In a grand gesture that cheered Tony up more than was reasonable, Loki raised his eyebrow. Tony smiled.

“What did you wish to speak about, Mr. Stark?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Tony huffed. “Our little soap opera episode on Sunday…”

“I was thinking about that conversation,” Loki said. But he suddenly seemed to change his mind, and he shrugged. “It came to mind.”

“Right. Well. I wanted to talk to you about Rhodey,” Tony said. He felt a sudden urge to deflect. He placed his hand flat on the table. “But you listen good, okay? Many Bothans died to bring us this information.”

“Is this funny, Mr. Stark?”

Tony shook his head. “Sorry. Facetious.” He sighed. “I just … I felt like I should tell you about this before the lawsuit or whatever progresses, you know? Before we go gentle into  _that_ good night.”

Loki nodded. Said nothing.

“I don't even know why I’m presenting it like this, like it's this big thing that I've been building up to for a really long time,” Tony murmured. “It's not. It's just me being an ass. That's the story.”

Again, Loki said nothing. He leaned back in his seat. Tony could only guess that this was his way of forcing Tony to say something. He wasn't engaging in conversation other than to divert Tony from delaying. He was directing Tony.

“God, this is a really shitty story…” Tony ran his hand over his face. “And that's bullshit. Heartbreaking. I've been nothing but a source of great stories for as long as I can remember.”

“Oh, I know,” said Loki. “Go on, Mr. Stark.”

“Okay. Okay.” Tony clicked his tongue. He had wanted to do this so much just minutes ago. Where had his fight gone? “So, Rhodey. He's my friend. Like. Best friend. Whatever. Frodo and Sam off to Mount Doom. I mean, Sam was sure the responsible one putting up with all of Frodo’s bullshit, right?”

“I see you as more of a Merry,” said Loki. “Or a Pippin.”

“Gee. Thanks.”

“Do continue.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah. So, since Rhodey’s been my friend since the days of yore and floppy disks, he's had a long time to get used to me being the guy Killian is so happy to sue, but I guess a lot of time to get tired of it, too. Not that he was always jumping for joy if I did something melodramatic or showed him up in public, but he always seemed to keep his disapproval to the level of harmless sarcasm, and…”

He stopped there. The memory of it all was awful. It really all had been so, so stupid. And entirely Tony’s fault, too. Rhodey was still happily friends with Pepper. This was on Tony.

“A while back, Rhodey and I got invited to this sort of, I don't know, bullshit public event. Full of military and contractors,” Tony continued. “And it's not like I'm still deep in the weaponry game, or anything, but I still knew a lot of the people there.

“One of the people there was this general. Or, ex-general. Ross. I'd met him before. Way back. Did some work with him. Rhodey was trying to tell me that he had this situation with Ross. I wasn't listening. Or maybe I was, but I didn't care. I was kind of drunk and distracted, and what was distracting me was—” He cleared his throat. “You guess.”

Loki shook his head, with this weird hint of a smile on his face. He looked sort of … morbidly amused. Loki was fucking weird. And Tony was fucking offended. What, did Loki share the same lack of faith that Tony’s friends did?

Should he?

“Anyway. Uh…” Tony sighed. “Rhodey asked me for help not looking like an ass in front of Ross. He knew we knew each other. Wanted me to help. But like I said, drunk, distracted, so I was about as useful as tits on a bull with that one. Rhodey and Ross got into some fight about … something. And Rhodey had to leave.

“To be honest, the really stupid thing is that I don't even know what I did—or didn't do—because I only remember so much of that night. And because I was, you know, otherwise engaged, I didn't even know he'd left in shame until he found me in my hotel room and started yelling at me.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki’s expression was unreadable now. It was maddening.

“He probably only said it because he was still really upset in that moment, and I’m guessing I wasn't the only one who'd had a few drinks, but he said all this stuff about…” He popped his lips. “I don't know. I'm an asshole. I'm selfish. I'm childish. He puts up with a lot and he only asked me for one thing and I got distracted being a manwhore.” And, before Loki could say anything, “His words.”

Loki laughed. Clearly without humor. 

Tony went straight on continuing with, “He got tired of that after a while. He said he didn't want to talk to me and told me to call him when—if—I wanted to apologize. He said he'd talk to me then. And I just sort of … didn't call. I couldn't find the words for it. Had a mental block. Then it went on for weeks. And now I think I'm stuck.”

He stopped firmly there, the sound of his teeth clicking with him sharply shutting his mouth punctuating the end of the story. Loki was watching him. Frowning now. Clearly analyzing what Tony had just told him. But Tony could only read that expression because this was Loki, and of course that's what he was doing.

“Told you it was a shitty story,” said Tony. “I do a really good dramatic retelling of _Face Off_ , though.”

Loki quirked an eyebrow like he disapproved, but what he said was, “It isn't a bad story.”

“Good. It can go in the memoirs between the story of hitting the tree with my dad's car and buying an entire multi-million dollar art collection because I spilled scotch on one of the pieces.”  He flashed an empty grin. “I'll be rich.”

“Mm.” Loki shifted in his seat. “Mr. Stark, I can't help but notice a pattern.”

“Yep. It was when I was drunk at a party that I laid into Killian. But that time I went with Bruce, so, completely different story,” Tony said. “Laid or not, Bruce was actually the best thing that came out of that night. Walked in on me in the bathroom and, well, he's the friend that I kept. But I admit, I guess it's possibly probable that Rhodey saw the video of me and Killian and ended up more mad at me than he already was.”

“Possibly probable,” Loki agreed with a single nod, though with an obvious distaste for Tony’s choice of words.

“But for all my bitching about my friends having no faith in me,” Tony muttered, “I guess I get it.”

“Mr. Stark…”

“What? You get it. Don't pretend you don't. You're my fucking crisis manager or whatever, Loki. Our relationship is founded on you lecturing me about my behavior.”

“Mm,” said Loki. In an instant’s change, he looked suddenly stern. “So stop whining.”

Tony blinked. “Hm?”

“I’ve been trying to understand your aversion to apology. And for the sake of doing my job, I think I'm getting there, but you did upset your friend and you haven't apologized, despite having apologized to myself and Dr. Banner on numerous occasions. You are allowed to have something that illogically stops you in your tracks, Mr. Stark, but do try now to wallow.”

Tony blinked again. He went with drinking coffee for the sake of having something to do—not so unusual at this point. That seemed like it had come out of nowhere, but then it probably hadn't. Loki was the crisis consultant, after all.

“I'm doing my job, Mr. Stark. You want to be prepared to deal with the lawsuit, correct?”

Tony nodded.

“Good. So consider your behavior,” said Loki. “And I don't intend that with cruelty. Hurting one person does not universally make _you_ a bad person, Mr. Stark.”

“I've done a little more than that, Prancer.”

Loki looked away, and out the window. “Perhaps.”

And, in a rare moment that would surely one day be in every high school history textbook, Tony was rendered speechless. They finished their drinks in uncomfortable silence.It took about twenty minutes for Tony get up, tap Loki on the shoulder with, “Come on, stretch your legs,” and lead him outside.

They walked aimlessly, leaving Tony’s car behind. Tony, wearing unnecessary shades of which Loki showed quick, eyebrow raised style disapproval, kept looking up at the sky as if there were answers up there.

“I know it’s stupid.”

“Hm?”

Tony tore his gaze away from the sky. “I know it’s stupid. I know he would’ve forgiven me if I’d just called him, but I was … You know. Competition.”

“I’m not sure that I do know,” said Loki.

“Mm. Well. Fucked it up now, haven’t I? So…” He frowned. “Doesn’t matter.”

Loki shook his head. He had his hands clasped behind his back as he walked. He said, finally, “My brother and I weren’t on speaking terms for a long while,” but Tony almost missed it.

“What’s that?”

“My brother and I,” Loki repeated. “Some time ago we—It happened that we weren’t speaking to one another.”

“You are now.”

Loki nodded. “Precisely. And it did work, by the way.”

“What worked?”

“My brother appears distracted,” Loki explained. “No mention of Odin or Phil Coulson, though it seems that he did speak to Mr. Fitz.”

“Yeah. Great,” Tony said. His stomach twisted. He found that he didn’t want to talk about that. “Is it okay to ask what happened?”

“What happened?”

“Yeah.” Tony stopped, taking hold of Loki’s arm to stop him also. “You seem to have this whole _Game of Thrones_ style life, which, fine, but even though I can tell you’re upset about your dad and there’s a whole history there, I don’t actually have a fucking clue what’s going on.”

“He’s not my—No.” Loki huffed. He carried on walking, gesturing for Tony to continue. It was a hurry for Tony to keep up, almost like Loki was running away. “And what is that you wish to know, Mr. Stark?”

“I don’t know,” said Tony. “What are you allowed to tell me?” And the question was mostly a joke. Mostly.

Loki narrowed his eyes at him. “I was speaking with Natasha and Barton earlier.”

“So I guessed.”

“They appear rather distressed at my conduct. They instructed me to—” He let out a cold laugh, holding out his arms, indicating the two of them. “They suggested that I pick a direction and walk in it.”

“Huh,” said Tony. “What does that mean?”

“It means, Mr. Stark, that they believe I’m putting myself through too much and that if I commit to working with Odin again then I won’t be able to commit myself to…” Another cold laugh. “Other things. They may be right, but I’m not sure that anyone can help.”

“Hey, sure I can,” said Tony. “You know my track record, right? I’m all about commitment.”  


Loki laughed. It seemed genuine this time. He stopped walking again, and said, “I don’t wish to commit to working with Odin. I’ll do as he asks and determine Coulson’s intentions and if Laufey is connected, and that will be all.”

“That’s picking a direction, is it?”

Loki looked at him intently. He seemed … sad.

“Yes,” said Loki. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, before gently taking Tony’s hand. “May we return to your car?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” said Tony. “We’re kind of obstructing the sidewalk anyway. Come on. I’ll take you home.”

Despite it being Loki’s idea, Tony all but had to drag him to the car. It seemed suddenly like the man was exhausted. At least he could say that the silence they walked in wasn’t awkward. They seemed to have gotten rid of that vibe, at least. But the silence continued as they got into the car, and that wasn’t the most comfortable of experiences. Tony had to break it.

“Well, this is the fucking worst,” he said, watching the landslide of questionable merging going on further up the road. “See, this is why I have Happy.”

“Do you want to know what happened, Mr. Stark?” Loki asked suddenly.

Tony started. “Do you want to tell me?”

Loki looked at the fingers knotted on his lap. “Yes.”

“Okay,” said Tony, trying for a gentle tone. He could tell that Loki was doing some serious mental acrobatics right now. He wanted to know what was on Loki’s mind, but he also knew that pushing him was going to send Loki running. This, right now? This was a big deal. Tony definitely got that sense.

“The Asgard Group, in some form, has been in the family for generations,” Loki began, his voice quiet. “Odin’s father ran it before he did. Odin was supposed to take over its leadership. And he did, for a time, but he had pursued a law degree for a reason. He left, and started Borson and Associates. Heimdall is standing in as leader now, but many have. Heimdall is an old friend of Odin’s actually. Significantly younger than him, but I hardly remember a time when I didn’t know Heimdall. Odin was his mentor when he was young. Some say he made Heimdall. My brother was to take the position, but took a job with security until he was deemed ready, and now I believe that he intends to stay with that position.

“Odin was one with noble intentions regarding the law. I’ve been told that much. And I know that he was never happy with the way that the system worked. When he left the law, it was because, he said, he couldn’t defend one more guilty person. I don’t know if that’s the entirety of the truth, but one must take it, for what it’s worth. Odin led the Asgard Group for a long time, but he was always a man of politics. He wanted the District Attorney position. He tells me that he was just waiting for the appropriate time.”

Loki paused there, but Tony said nothing. He was afraid that interrupting Loki would put him off continuing.

Loki’s head fell back, and he closed his eyes. “I did as Odin did and went to law school. I never had the same feelings on the law that he did, but…” He opened his eyes. “Like I said, I never took the bar exam.”

“Right,” said Tony, feeling like he’d been asked to speak. “Took the step up to politics.”

“Quite,” said Loki with a smile. “As I hadn’t made any attempt at passing the bar, Odin decided that I wasn’t doing enough. He asked me to help with his campaign, and I did. It was after he was elected that I found out…” He trailed off there.

“Laufeyson?” Tony prompted.

“Yes,” said Loki curtly. “Odin and I had rather a  … volatile disagreement about his choice not to tell me that I was adopted. He—it wasn’t my fault, of course—he fell ill during that argument. Not for the first time, but it was still…” He sighed. “I called the ambulance. Thor and my mother met us at the hospital. I was still angry. I said the wrong thing. Thor took me outside, and I told him what had happened. I told him some of the things I had said to Odin. Started an argument between us. He went for me. Threw me to the ground.”

“Loki,” Tony started.

“It’s fine. It was years ago,” said Loki. “But he told me to go home, and I did, and I didn’t speak to Thor or Odin for a little while after that. My marriage didn’t last much longer either.”

Tony tried again. “Loki—”

“It really is alright, Mr. Stark. It was going to end anyway. I just managed to accelerate the process,” said Loki. He frowned, but it was quizzical. Everything suddenly seemed oddly less serious. “She had this idea, and I can’t imagine why, that I was more attracted to men than I was to her.”

It was the way that Loki said it, maybe, that meant Tony couldn’t help but laugh. “Now where’d she go getting an idea like that?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” said Loki. His expression grew dark. “I wish I knew why it turned into a custody battle. There was no dispute at first. When I got custody of Vali, she left. I’ve heard nothing from her since. Perhaps Vali does, on occasion, but not me.”

“Do you see Vali often?” Tony asked, though he quickly wished that he hadn’t.

“No,” said Loki. “I did once, shortly after we met, but that wasn’t by my arrangement.”

“Okay,” said Tony. He didn’t know what else to say. It was hardly like he was any sort of authority on parenting.

“It happened, actually, that it was because of the divorce that we all started talking again. Well, I started talking to Odin and Thor. I still rarely speak to my mother.” It obviously stung, saying that last part. “My wife and I had an apartment, but during the divorce process, Vali and I moved back home. I couldn’t bear it. The air felt heavy. Odin helped me find another apartment, but Vali didn’t come with me. I was in no state to take care of him.”

Again, Tony said nothing. He really didn’t know what to say.

“My wife had in fact been supporting Vali and myself, for the most part,” said Loki. “That’s why Odin had to help me find an apartment, and why he had given me an office in the Asgard Group building. I was able to sustain my business for a time, but it declined.”

Tony nodded. Still, he had no fucking clue what to say. He’d known that Loki was struggling in the cash flow department. He just hadn’t known what to say about it. He didn’t know what to say about any of this. It was obvious, though, that there were details that he was never going to get. That was okay. This clearly hurt Loki a lot more than Loki was willing to let on. That was who Loki was, right? A man in hiding.

Thankfully, they reached Loki’s building with Tony’s sanity more or less intact. Tony found a place to park where he wasn’t going to get ticketed to shit, and was prepared to say his goodbyes when Loki said, “You can come in, if you wish.”

Tony smiled. “Sure. I’ll behave.”

Loki brushed at Tony’s shoulder as if cleaning away dirt. “Good.”

Loki’s office, old-fashioned in its décor, was immaculate. Everything clearly had its place. All the books, whatever the truth of their content, were neatly organized with their leather coverings on the shelf. Loki’s apartment would probably look something like that. That was what Tony was expecting. He definitely, as he stepped into the place after Loki, wasn’t expecting it to look like a bombsite.

But it did.

Tony wasn’t being melodramatic. The place was a disaster. He could see in front of him the kitchen, not a realm of cleaned dishes, and to his right was a living space that as well as being carpeted by books and magazines, also seemed to be serving as a secondary wardrobe. To his right, down a short hallway, was the open door to a bedroom. Through it, Tony could just make out an unmade bed. He was so deep in thought about how the man with the office Tony had seen had such a messy home that he almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of Loki clicking the door shut.

Tony spun on his heel to look at Loki. The man was leaning against the door. Tony couldn’t even hazard a guess at the emotion on his face.

“You are allowed to judge me,” Loki said, little indication in his tone as to whether or not it was a joke.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Tony said. He took off his sunglasses. “Well, I’m not judging you any more than you are me for these.”

Loki smiled. He passed Tony and went into the living room. Tony followed, sort of, but ended up leaning against the doorframe, looking at the room side on. He didn’t really want to enter. He’d been invited in, but he still felt somehow as if he were intruding, as if this were the sort of thing that Loki usually hid.

Loki bent down, examining one of the magazines on his coffee table. “Did I tell you what Odin asked of me?”

“S’pose I made my guesses,” said Tony. “Couldn’t recite the details.”

Loki stood straight. Was it weird that he still had his coat on? Tony hadn’t even been wearing one.

“Phil Coulson used to work in the District Attorney’s office, but at some point became an AUSA,” Loki said. “Recently, he’s been pursuing Odin. Odin asked me to discover why, and to see if Laufey has any involvement. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that he does. They do have an old business rivalry.”

Loki took a seat on his couch, which seemed to be a calm island in this apartment’s sea of chaos. He told Tony this story, then, that filled in some of the rest of the gaps. He told him about a man called Raze, a friend of Heimdall and once campaign manager of Odin, who had betrayed Odin for Laufey. Then, later, used information that Heimdall had provided to gain money that he shouldn’t.

“When it was investigated, I understand that Raze managed to shift the attention to Heimdall,” Loki said. “Because of this, Odin went to an acquaintance in Brooklyn and ensured that the investigation came to nothing. He did the same for the man who did this for him, I’d imagine.” He looked up. “And I helped in the aftermath. I didn’t know all the details then, but I did. It was Natasha who asked me to, not knowing everything, but I felt a certain obligation and I did it. That’s why I have to help now. Certainly as Odin puts it. The only assumption is that Coulson believes Odin to have abused his office, and I’ll not have any attention shifted to me as it was to Heimdall.”

Tony swallowed. He hadn’t quite digested what he’d just been told. Hell, he wasn’t even sure that he understood it. He was trying to line up the chain of events in his head.

“So, this thing with Heimdall happened while you were still fighting with your family?”

“Yes,” said Loki. “Odin discharged himself as soon as he was able. He wouldn’t say why. I know now that it was to help Heimdall. And Federal officers never quite left the Asgard Group alone after what happened. They remain suspicious.”

“Wow,” said Tony. “Talk about a tangled web, huh.”

“It is … quite a mess,” said Loki, assessing his room. “But I do know which messes are my doing, and that mess is Odin’s. Natasha and Barton are right. I’ll not let him drag me any further into it than he has already.”

“Picking a direction, then?”

“I thought I had already,” Loki said. “But I can choose another.”

He stood then, and approached Tony. He came to stop in front of him. Close. He placed a hand on Tony’s waist.

“So, in that case, can I ask you a question?” Tony said.

“You may.”

Tony winked. “Am I getting a second date?”

“Hmm.” Loki’s hand slid, just slightly, up Tony’s body. “I think so. But there is a condition.”

“And what’s that?”

Loki looked at him for a moment, expression dark, before asking, “Will you help me, Mr. Stark?”

“With the, uh, the Coulson thing?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course,” said Tony. “I kind of owe you for the Killian thing, right?”

“You are still paying me for that, Mr. Stark, I believe,” Loki said.

“Fine. Then I guess I’m doing it out of the kindness of my heart.”

Loki grimaced as if the thought was disgusting to him. Tony laughed, but stopped when he saw something lying on a chair in the corner of the living room.

“Fuck. Are those leather pants?” he asked.

Loki looked at them, then back to Tony. “Are we judging me?”

“Wondering why you don’t wear them more often, actually. I can think of a few crises they might solve.”

Loki chuckled and, surprising Tony, placed a kiss on Tony’s forehead. “Don’t wear a suit.”

“Huh?”

“At the first deposition, Mr. Stark. Don’t wear a suit. Trust me.”

“Always do,” said Tony.

“I wouldn’t.”

“Oh, there’s the drama queen again,” said Tony. “Drama queen who lives in a pigsty.”

“Heimdall cleans my office,” Loki said with a shrug.

“The CEO of the Asgard Group cleans your office,” Tony said.

“I don’t ask him to. He says that he can see dust, and it drives him mad.”

“And to think I pay people to clean my place,” said Tony. “Though, I guess I have to admit that it would probably look like this if I didn’t.”

Loki chuckled again and pressed a kiss against Tony’s lips. When he pulled away, he said, “Your friend will forgive you, Mr. Stark.”

Tony went with kissing Loki again so that he didn’t have to answer that. It felt like using a house of cards to stop a tidal wave, but it would do for the immediate now. He didn’t want to think about his apparent inability to apologize to Rhodey right now. Focusing on Loki felt … it felt better, even if the comment about distracting Thor was nagging at him.

Huh. Who was the drama queen, exactly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we ready for Killian? I sure am. About time he showed up in person, damn it. 
> 
> New link today! Quick and easy way to keep up with me, especially when I participate in NaNo events. (Which I do three times a year, so be excited for me actually writing.)
> 
> [twitter.com/librariankiss](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	14. Collar and Tie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aldrich Killian arrives at Barton Romanoff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been excited for Aldrich's in person appearance since the fic began, and here he is! Thanks for reading, everyone.

Tony had only a few—and several thousand other—questions running through his mind. The identity of the two people manning the camera on the other end of the table was a concern, for example. But namely, he was concerned with the point at which it became acceptable to throw up in a plant pot. Oh, and there was the question of just how undressed Loki wanted him to feel.

Tony had arrived at Barton Romanoff at midday as instructed, at which point he was shat on by just how much of a collar-and-tie crowd this really was. He’d noticed this before, sure, but it was different now. Fucking ridiculous that he could feel so outflanked, too, because he’d barely noticed the difference on that Sunday when he had come in wearing a suit and Barton hadn’t. He shouldn’t be feeling so aggressively out of place in a leather jacket and jeans. And, of course, he was hiding behind—

“You’re wearing sunglasses.”

Tony, who was sitting awkwardly at the table in what he was pretty sure was the biggest conference room, turned to see Loki standing in one of the two doorways. The doorway further into the offices, implying that he’d been here a while, maybe even down the stairs that Tony had only seen in passing. Loki was also wearing a suit under his green coat.

“I was wearing sunglasses the last time you saw me,” said Tony.

“And I’m afraid I didn’t understand it then, either.”

“These are great glasses. I’ve had a pair like ‘em for years.” And he had, one or two replacements notwithstanding. This pair was actually very similar to the pair he had been wearing the night that he first met Aldrich Killian. Or whatever. He didn’t know why he remembered that.

“Mm.”

“Have you been here a while?”

Loki looked at the two Barton Romanoff employees at the other end of the table, who scrambled to exit and shut the door behind themselves, waiting outside and firmly not looking inside the conference room.

“I asked Miss Hill if she could find some information for me,” said Loki.

“Oh. Right. Fun.” Tony flicked the glass of water sitting in front of him on the table. The table had been equipped with four glasses and a jug big enough to flood Manhattan.

Arms crossed, Loki finally stepped into the room. He took a seat by the glass door behind Tony’s chair. He was more than an arm’s reach away from Tony, and something told Tony that that was deliberate. Tony thought they’d ended their last meeting okay. Outside the realm of awkward. But now, crossed arms shielding himself, struggling to make eye contact, Loki seemed about as ready to throw up as Tony was. Why?

Tony didn’t ask—didn’t get to ask—because at that moment Romanoff appeared with a gold plated pen and a pile of papers in hand.

“Sorry about that,” she said, preoccupied with her papers. “Clint was just double checking something, and—nice jacket.”

Throwing himself onto the edge of vomiting, Tony grinned. “Loki dressed me.”

Natasha shook her head. She threw the papers down onto the table, damn near causing a tidal wave thanks to that jug of water, and sat down beside Tony. Again looking at her papers, she said, “Just so you know, if the fact that you two are dating screws us over then I’ll never speak to either of you again.”

Loki coughed. “Mr. Stark and I have agreed that one date does not constitute dating.”

“Oh. Great.”

There was quiet for a moment, then Loki asked, “And you still have that?”

“This?” Romanoff held up her pen. “Of course I do.” Then, suddenly, she was looking at Tony, and her eyes held such burning intensity that he almost fell out of his seat. “You really don’t need to be here, Tony.”

Tony shrugged. “And how would it look if I wasn’t?”

Romanoff nodded, sighing. “I don’t know what your last lawyers thought they were doing.” She turned to Loki. “Were Nelson and Murdock the first lawyers that Killian had for this? Did Tony’s last lawyers even know that he has Nelson and Murdock?”

Loki quirked an eyebrow. “I can’t imagine why you’re asking me.”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure,” said Romanoff. “What could go wrong?”

“Oh, sure. And I noticed that, too,” Tony said. He pointed to the table by the door through which Romanoff had entered, which was the door closest to reception. It had upon it a collection of coffee and fruit, which had been set up by a young intern who had barely acknowledged Tony’s presence, outside of nervously telling him that she  _was_ an intern.

“We like that table. Makes us look friendly,” said Romanoff.

“Mm. A lot of grapes.”

Romanoff smiled at him. “You really don’t need to be here.”

Tony returned the smile. “I really, really do.”

Romanoff nodded. Looking through her papers again, she said, “Okay. This has taken forever—and your last lawyers didn’t help us out much there—but we’ll be fine. Mostly, I’m just trying to clarify.” She turned to Tony again, eyes twinkling with a smile. “And intimidate.”

Tony nodded, throat dry. “I think you’ve got that one covered.”

“Thank you!” she said brightly.

Tony looked away, forcing his focus elsewhere as Romanoff and Loki went back into their strategy talks that were too political for Tony. He rested his chin on his hands and blew a raspberry for the theater of it. He made an idle, pointless, and largely meaningless table of prime numbers in his head, just to give his brain something to do. His eyes were fixed on the fruit across the room. All those grapes.

On the other side of the glass wall was a hallway. It led down to reception. He wouldn’t see Killian and his lawyer (lawyers?) arriving—if they hadn’t arrived already.

“Well, Tony,” said Romanoff pointedly, snapping Tony’s attention back to her. “Since you _are_ here, can you do something for me?”

“Aye aye.”

“Don’t say a word. Just sit there, and don’t say a word, okay?” she said. “Pleasantries are great. But during the actual—I just need you to be quiet, okay?”

Tony nodded. He could do that. Didn’t mean that his stomach wasn’t tearing itself to shreds, but what was he so nervous about, anyway? It was only Aldrich Killian, for fuck sake. He clearly hadn’t been afraid of him when he’d called him an amoral idea thief … or however his drunken self had phrased it. He didn’t want to remember.

“Remember, Tony, you can probably deal with any monetary issue. It’s just a matter of not letting them bullshit us anymore.” Romanoff tapped the table twice with the end of her pen. “Eye contact is good, though. Don’t say a word, but don’t be afraid to look at Killian.”

“Right…” Tony wasn’t sure.

“Dr. Killian is the injured party,” said Loki from his seat behind them. “But, if your line is that you believe he was childish in his reaction, then you must show that you aren’t intimidated.”

“I thought that was your line,” said Tony. He directed it at the table.

“Loki’s not the one who dislikes Killian so much, Tony,” said Romanoff.

Before Tony could reply, Barton, drumming on the doorframe, appeared in the doorway closest to reception. He was suited up too. Tony hated this.

“Showtime,” said Barton to Romanoff. “And you can deal with this one.”

“Right,” said Romanoff. She prodded Tony on the shoulder. “You wait here. Foggy _says_ that he wants to keep it civil, so.”

“Mm.” This from Loki, who sure sounded like he believed that.

“Nice job dressing him there, Odinson,” said Barton. “Show no fear.”

Romanoff shook her head, standing, and vanished out of the room without another word. Before Tony even knew what to do with himself, Loki was sitting in the seat that Romanoff had just occupied. He’d moved so quickly that it was like he had teleported.

“And what are we thinking about, Mr. Stark?”

“The interesting number paradox,” said Tony. Then, in response to Loki’s raised eyebrow, “No, really. I was doing some prime number bullshit, but they’re not as interesting as they think they are, are they? So, interesting number paradox.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“It’s just like….” Tony looked at the fruit adorned table again. “It’s like distracting yourself by counting.”

“Do people do that?”

“I don’t know,” said Tony with a shrug. He considered Loki for a moment, in the same way that Loki had been analyzing him since they met. “Are you alright? You look … shaken.”

“As do you,” said Loki slowly, frowning. It seemed like a deflection. 

“Well, we saw that one coming, didn’t we? What’s bothering you?”

Loki leaned back in his seat, considering Tony for a long moment. Finally, frown still on his face, he said, “I don’t understand the sunglasses.”

Tony shook his head, attention back on the fruit-and-coffee table. “Screw you. Great sunglasses.”

“We’re inside, Mr. Stark.”

“That’s not really the—”

“They’re half the size of your face.”

“Are we complaining? Are we complaining about the sunglasses?” Tony removed them and hooked them on his outside pocket. “I’m not even wearing them, see? Not wearing the sunglasses. No tie to complain about, either.”

“I am relieved,” said Loki flatly. He really did seem unsettled. It was the same sort of nervousness that he had displayed when they went to dinner.

Tony stood. He rested his hands on the back of his chair and used the position to stretch the muscles on the back of his right leg.

“Do I look taxed enough yet?”

“We were trying for not intimidated, Mr. Stark.”

“This look isn’t intimidated. This is waitress after a double shift.”

“I refuse to believe that you have a frame of reference for that,” said Loki. He was quiet for a moment, then, “Are you nervous, Mr. Stark?”

“What gave you that impression?”

“You needn’t be. You really will be fine.”

“Sure,” said Tony, but the fact that his throat felt like it was on fire as he said it made him think that he might be lying. He leaned down, and said in Loki’s ear, “You don’t have to be nervous either.”

Loki looked at him, eyes intense and just a little too close to focus on. “Thank you.”

Tony stuck out his tongue—not at all awkwardly nearly licking Loki’s nose—and stood straight. He darted around the conference table, finally unable to stop himself from investigating the table of coffee and fruit.

“I think I hate this thing,” he said, stepping away from it. “I mean, is it _entirely_ for show, or…?”

He trailed off at the sight of something on the other side of the glass wall. He fell back several steps and rested against the table. His throat, somehow, felt even drier. It was like someone had gone at it with sandpaper.

Just in view on the other side of the glass wall was a trio of people who seemed happy enough to be chatting. They couldn’t be that happy, though. This group of Romanoff, Killian and the man who could only be Killian’s lawyer could  _only_ have dagger eyes for each other.

Well, fuck.

Tony squinted at them. They were approaching, getting ever easier to see. Killian was dressed in a gray plaid suit. Tony was pretty sure that his tie matched perfectly. Loki would probably love that. He was walking slowly, slower than Romanoff ever walked, and yet carrying himself taller than he was. And somehow, even from this distance, Tony could make out the dazzlingly whitened teeth of his smile.

Killian’s lawyer was shorter than Killian, and Tony’s assessment from this distance was that he was sort of unkempt. He and Killian didn’t seem like a match. Maybe if he had been Killian’s lawyer when Tony had first met Killian. Maybe.

“You need to breathe, Mr. Stark.”

Tony almost projectile vomited on the grapes. Loki was standing right beside him, and, again, he hadn’t noticed him move.

“Am I not breathing?”

Loki crossed his arms. “You really, really needn’t be nervous.”

“I’m not,” said Tony. He looked back at Killian, who was shaking hands with a passing Barton. “I’m pissed.”

Loki let out a breath of sarcastic laughter, but Tony didn’t comment on it. He was watching the trio still in the hallway. Now that Killian had departed, Romanoff was once again leading Killian and his lawyer towards him. It really was showtime.

“Romanoff wishes to make a point of this being an informal relationship,” said Loki quietly, “so do remember that.”

“Oh yeah, this is a real tea party.”

Loki laughed, and despite clear discomfort, it appeared genuine. “Remember, Mr. Stark, _we_ are supposed to be the intimidating ones. Although Natasha does enjoy giving people false confidence.”

“Mm. You sure seem to be taking that one seriously,” said Tony. He was about seven hundred percent certain that he was screwed.

“If nothing else, be certain that Dr. Killian knows he’s not getting to you,” said Loki. And then, quietly in Tony’s ear, “Although, it is alright if he is.”

Tony smiled.

And then Killian was right outside the conference room. He caught Tony’s eye. Tony swallowed, throat scratching, then grinned and waggled his fingers at him. Killian stopped dead. He looked at Tony for a long moment, then nodded at Tony with a muted smile.

“Huh,” said Tony.

The door opened, Romanoff leaning against it. She allowed Killian and his lawyer to enter first with, “Really, we’re so sorry. This isn’t normally how we’d do this, we just had—”

“It really is fine,” said Killian quickly. “We didn’t mean to seem ungrateful. Did we, Foggy?”

“Not at all,” said his lawyer—Foggy—with a smile. His hair seemed kind of greasy. “Like I said, you should see our offices. We can’t complain about being here.”

Romanoff was smiling. She shut the door. Suddenly there were too many people in here. Tony couldn’t help but feel a little boxed in. This was so, so fucking stupid. And yet he had this sudden impulse to hold Loki’s hand. He ignored it.

“Well,” said Foggy, smiling at Tony, “if it isn’t the man who privatized world peace.”

“That’s what they call me,” Tony said. He frowned. Then grinned. “That’s one of the things that they call me.”

“Hello again, Tony,” said Romanoff. She said it gently. She seemed so … passive. Subdued. Tony had never known her to be aggressive, but there was always this edge to her. That was gone now. It was like a different Romanoff, a Romanoff who said sweetly to Killian, “He’s been wanting to hear what you have to say.”

“I doubt it,” said Killian. Through his smile, Tony saw a hint of darkness in his eyes, and he was sure that he wasn’t imagining it.

“You needn’t worry,” said Loki. And then, pointedly, “Mr. Stark will be on his best behavior.”

What was the tactic there? At the very least, Tony took it as an indication to stop talking. He was more than happy with the few words he’d uttered being it for now. A strange feeling, that. It didn’t seem like there would be much opportunity for Tony to say more anyway, as Foggy’s face brightened when Loki spoke.

“Mr. Laufeyson!” He leaned forwards and shook Loki’s hand with vigor. “Loki. It’s good to see you again.”

“And you,” said Loki. “Foggy. Is it treating you well?”

Foggy tugged on his suit jacket. “It’s this one, actually. And yes. Thank you. How’s your death suit?”

“Adequate,” said Loki, eyebrow raised.

Foggy nodded, then said to the clearly bemused Killian, “We have the same tailor.”

“Ah.” He was frowning. That answer didn’t seem to have satisfied him.

“Oh, uh, don’t worry,” said Romanoff. She seemed apprehensive, but Tony was pretty convinced that it was put on. “We’ll have privacy. Loki here is just the babysitter.”

“Mm,” Loki agreed darkly.

Killian smiled. It made Tony’s throat constrict.

“Okay, so,” said Romanoff, clapping her hands together as her act continued, “I think we can—Loki, if you’d just…?”

“I’ll be with Miss Hill,” said Loki.

“Great!” Romanoff chirped. “Tony, you were sitting just there. Would you mind?” She indicated the chair.

Tony nodded. “Uh huh. I’m just gonna…” He took a step forward and leaned between Killian and Foggy about as obnoxiously as he could. “Thanks, I just need to—thank you.” And, with a handful of grapes, he stood up straight again.

Killian’s feathers seemed ruffled. He was frowning. He pulled on his jacket to straighten it. Tony smiled at him, shoving several grapes into his mouth.

“Tony,” said Romanoff, “could you…?”

Tony nodded, and said “Yeah, of course,” through his mouthful of grapes. He’d feel pretty safe betting that nobody had understood him.

Loki rested his hand on Tony’s shoulder. A goodbye. He shook his head, just visibly, before departing with a nod towards Killian and Foggy. Killian returned it. Foggy offered an uncomfortable smile.

As Tony took his seat, he could still see Loki frowning at him on the other side of the glass. He blew a kiss at him, making it look as sarcastic as he could. Loki stared at him for several moments, cocked his head, then vanished into a cluster of suited individuals. It was seconds after this that the camera operators, with two other people, returned and took their seats.

“Okay, let’s get this out of the way, shall we?” said Romanoff.

“Oh, I’ve been looking forward to it,” said Foggy. His smile didn’t seem awkward anymore. “And you don’t need to worry either. I’m not a very good attorney.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” said Killian. _He_ looked deathly serious. His hands were resting on the table. Tony was drawn to them because of the weakly clenched fists. He noticed, only just, an almost imperceptible tremble to them.

Tony behaved himself as this debacle went on. For the next hour, the next entire fucking hour, he sat silently and followed the proceedings. Romanoff was firm, succinct, and everything that she said, she said in a clipped tone. She changed in an instant from her previous persona, one of apparent nerves, to one of a woman who just wanted to get this the hell over with. Tony could only appreciate that. Foggy, too, seemed to have much the same attitude, though Tony could only assume that that was working to his own benefit. He firmly objected to something that Romanoff said only twice, and both times backed down when she asked if he wanted a judge on the line.

He wished it wasn’t so, but Tony found it really difficult to pay attention. For the most part, Romanoff seemed to be trying to get the exact details of what Killian’s damages were. She already knew this from Hill, of course, but she probably needed it on the record—or something. Tony wasn’t exactly up on the law.

Killian kept on with this even-tempered, yet somehow defensive smile. His fingers had laced together on the table, but he was shaking. Just a little bit. His statements were curt. One word answers whenever possible. Foggy had probably instructed this. But why? To frustrate Romanoff? Or, was he worried that Killian would give too much away if he spoke freely? That he would get too emotional? Tony was obviously meant to be quiet for the sake of not putting his foot in his mouth, but he got fixated on what was getting Killian to behave in the way that he was. Every single time Romanoff asked him a question and he didn’t drop his smile, Tony’s skin prickled. He could feel anger rising in his stomach, but he had to ignore it. Had to keep his expression docile.

It took a lot of fighting Killian’s brusque manner, but Romanoff seemed to get what she wanted in the end. Killian revealed that he had worked with the military. It had been a great deal of his MIA work. He seemed reluctant to give too much detail, but Tony managed to gather that working with amputees was part of it. It was funny—if not ha ha funny. Tony hadn’t known about any of this work before this stupid fucking lawsuit. Killian had been invisible for years, after all. Tony had no idea what he had been doing. Only that he looked better when he first saw him after many years. More confident, especially. He couldn’t help but be interested in the work, too. It seemed, though he didn’t want to think it, better than…

Well. The other guy who carried the moniker “merchant of death” invented dynamite, so.

Tony directed his mind to think about Betty and how his sleep-addled brain had fucked up the mechanism so she only launched things about a foot. She couldn’t reach Pepper’s office door from the end of the hallway. That was a definite step back. If his mind were in a better state, he’d have been able to fix it in no time. Something was definitely wrong with him. Still, maybe if he—

There was a clatter.

“It’s _fine_ , Foggy!”

Killian was standing up. Foggy, too, holding onto Killian’s forearm as if worried about him. Romanoff was already on her feet. The two whoever-they-were with the camera were turning it off. On the table, Killian’s glass lay on its side. Water had spread across the table. Romanoff deftly picked up her papers and placed them on her chair, out of the way. Instinctively, Tony rose to his feet and picked up Killian’s glass, setting it straight. Killian glared at him. His hand was shaking at his side.

Foggy huffed. “I know it’s fine. I wasn’t—”

“Forgive me, Miss Romanoff,” said Killian tersely. Tony tried to place the expression on his face. It was a little … deer caught in headlights. It sort of reminded him of Loki, and fuck did he hate that thought.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s only water,” said Romanoff, and with a smile that seemed genuinely kind.

“If you say so,” said Killian stiffly. He took a breath, as if to steady himself, then smiled. “Is it alright if we take a break?”

“Of course,” said Romanoff.

“I’m sorry,” said Killian, and he departed with shaky steps. Foggy looked awkwardly between Tony and Romanoff before shrugging and following after his client.

“Stay here,” said Romanoff. She wasn’t looking at Tony. Her gaze was following Killian and Foggy, who were out of sight by the time Tony looked. “He won’t want you to…”

She didn’t finish that sentence. She didn’t need to.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

Tony sat down and clamped his mouth shut. He was shaken. And more than content to remain here.

“This is going to get dragged out, but you can definitely cover it. There shouldn’t be any…” She sighed, then turned to Tony. A plastic smile appeared. “Do you know, Tony, I was going to say that there shouldn’t be any drama. I should know better.”

“Yeah.”

Romanoff went to the fruit table and uncovered a cloth from God knew where. She quickly wiped up the water, saying something about not wanting to concern anyone else with it. Tony found that he was staring off through the glass wall, wondering where Killian had got to. After a nightmarish hour of amateur dramatics, that water thing had all happened in seconds.

“Yeah. Feeling’s mutual.” But he only said it to be petty.

Fuck. Hell, this was awful. It hurt he should have just fucking apologized when he first yelled at Killian, shouldn’t he? He should have learned his lesson from Rhodey. This pain and this awkward? This was on Tony.

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I set up a fun new Twitter for NaNoWriMo, here's a reminder of my social links. If either are of interest you should definitely check them out! Thanks, guys. x
> 
> [librariankiss.tumblr.com](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [twitter.com/librariankiss](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	15. Sticks and Stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Investigating and talking with Killian. Oh, and Tony wants a second date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A poll on my Twitter told me to upload another fic before this chapter. More details in the end notes.
> 
> Quick note: The actual movie is vague about the specifics of Aldrich's disabilities so I am as well. I'm writing it from my own experience with this one. I also think that Aldrich is one of many MCU characters with a mental illness, though again the movies are never exactly specific. I'm doing again with what I've got.

Loki was on the lower floor of Barton Romanoff, near the bullpen that housed many of the associates. Though the space was overall as large as that upstairs, it did feel a great deal more constricted. The space opened onto a crowd of desks as soon as one reached the bottom of the stairs. There were several offices, the two largest in the back corners, and a small conference room at the back of the space. It always felt far more crowded down here than it did upstairs, regardless of how many people were present. It was forever filled with the noise of work. Worst, perhaps, was the fact that this floor had no outside windows. It reminded Loki of his office in the Asgard Group building.

He had joined Maria Hill—Maria, as he was to call her, as she would rarely tolerate her being called Miss Hill within earshot—ahem. He had joined Maria in the meeting room. She sat with her laptop, creating an atmosphere that would surely discourage any associates from approaching. It wasn’t uncommon for her to simply steal one of their desks. Today, however, she used the conference room for privacy. Upon joining her, Loki had taken the seat opposite. This let him keep his back to the associates’ bullpen on the other side of the glass. He felt more comfortable that way.

Maria, sighing at her screen, said, “I don’t understand.” Her hair was neatly done, and she was dressed cleanly as she always was at work, but Loki had picked up immediately that she was wearing more makeup than usual. To cover the just now just visibldark circles under her eyes. She had agreed to help him, yes, but he knew that she tended to get stuck on a project.

“You don’t understand,” he repeated.

She nodded. “Phil thinks that Odin misused his office, yes? He’s going after him because of that?”

“I can only assume,” said Loki. “Odin covered something up for which Heimdall and the Asgard Group was being investigated. If I were AUSA Coulson, I might well be eager to prove that he did so.”

“I know Phil. He’s a good guy, but he’s not…” She shook her head and began typing. “I wouldn’t expect this from him.”

“And why not?”

“I mean, I’d expect him to want to expose it if he thought someone in Odin’s position was doing wrong, of course,” Maria clarified, “but if Leo Fitz is worried about the way he’s doing it then … I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like Phil.”

Loki nodded. “Perhaps it isn’t. I have yet to find an opportunity to speak with him.”

“You should,” said Maria. She seemed slightly distracted. “But, anyway. I did the digging on top of what you found out. You’re right about Odin’s Jormungand thread. It’s active again.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Loki had checked it only briefly, as even with the fresh activity there had been little to see. And while the thread concerning Tony and Killian was now well over five hundred pages, Odin’s remained in the double digits. Loki had been most interested in seeing which usernames appeared in both threads. The moniker “scarletwitch” had appeared again, for example, with:

 

 ** _scarletwitch_ ** _posted:_

_I’ve not been on this thread before - I came to this website for Stark SmackDown—but I saw this on a friend’s recent posts so I thought I’d have a look._

_Did any of you hear that someone might be investigating Borson? I remember that, as you’ve all been saying so far, just after Borson became DA the Asgard Group did something, but the investigation came to nothing. I’ve only heard about the investigation as an offhand mention in the Stark Smackdown thread because his company hired ODIN BORSON’S SON when he got sued, but I wondered if anyone knows if the investigation is to do with that original suspicion (which, why did it never go anywhere?) and or more to do with when the FBI thought that there was something off when the Asgard Group bought that other business?_

  * _Interactions: Like x 1, Newbie x 2_



 

This repeated desire to hit things was beginning to grow concerning. Loki covered it with, “Is all well?” with a nod towards Maria’s notebook.

“Since you’re, uh, borrowing me.” Maria pulled the laptop closer to herself and assessed the screen. “So, we’re trying to find out if Laufey has anything to do with Phil nosing around Odin’s business.”

“Yes,” said Loki.

“Okay, I get it. Odin knows that they’re looking into him for something, but what and why depends on where their reason for suspecting him came from.”

“Correct.”

“I hate politicians,” said Maria with a sigh. “No offense.”

“I’m no politician. I’ve only aided their campaigns. Regardless, I think we have little time for this.”

“I think you’re right. So we’ve got to … Okay.” She rested her notebook on her lap and picked up a pen. “My guess is that Odin really does think it’s Laufey, or why would he ask?”

“I don’t wish to believe that Laufey has any involvement.” Being dishonest with Maria would get him nowhere, and she’d share none of this with the wrong people, so the truth was acceptable. “But despite everything, Odin has never been the type for baseless paranoia. In all honesty, if he suspects Laufey then in some way I must too.”

“But we’ve got to prove it, right?”

“Right.”

“Good.” Maria clicked her pen. “We can do that.” Turning a page in her notebook, she followed with, “So why does he think that it’s Laufey?”

Loki very much did not want to answer that, but, “There are any number of reasons. Odin and Laufey have never been on good terms. They have an old rivalry. But…”

“Yes?”

“Some time ago, the Asgard Group led a hostile takeover of one of Laufey’s companies. Fandral was very involved in it. He knows nothing of any of this, of course, but he grew upset because for a time White Collar was suspicious of the takeover.”

“I remember that,” said Maria, making a note. “Barton Romanoff helped out the people that the Asgard Group fired for a little while.”

“Before they shouted about a conflict of interests,” said Loki with a nod. “Many of Laufey’s businesses have failed. Often, I know he’s seen Odin as the cause. Perhaps he has been. I know that Odin has remained far more involved than he likely should with the Asgard Group since he left.”

“So, what? It would be revenge?”

“In part, perhaps,” said Loki. “Perhaps more.”

“Go on,” said Maria. She was still scribbling things in her notebook.

“Laufey ran against Odin for District Attorney. I think everyone in our circle knows that he still wants the office.”

“Oh. Oh, I get it,” said Maria. “If it _is_ anything to do with Laufey and he gets any scrap of evidence that Odin did anything untoward—”

“It could help a future campaign,” Loki finished.

“Seems kind of last minute to be trying something like that, though,” said Maria. “What with the bureaucracy they have to fight through on these investigations, and Odin being such a public figure on top of that—”

“I know,” Loki agreed. “That’s where I have to give pause.”

Maria shrugged. “It’s still not the worst theory. We just need to prove it. Or otherwise.” She began making notes again. Though Loki was viewing the page upside down, he could surmise that it was a list.

“And how would you suggest that we do that?”

“Well, I guess there’s a few routes to go. It’s a good thing that we’ve got me. It might not be best that Laufey knows you’re doing this.” Her brow furrowed. “At least not yet. It could be helpful. Would you be—?”

“I’d be more than willing to speak with him, if that’s what’s needed.”

“Great.” Maria made some final notation and underlined it. “Well, first thing we’re going to do is see what we can find out without having to speak to anyone in person or making our presence obvious. I bet you did the same when you were looking into how bad things were with Stark and Killian.”

“I did.” 

Maria closed her notebook and dropped it onto the table. “Here. You should know who this one is,” said Maria.

She spun her laptop around, and Loki pulled it towards himself to see the post that she had open. It was a fresh post, from this morning, after Loki had closed the page.

 

 **_ibelieveinheroes_ ** _posted:_

_Oh good. Another Killianite bitching about Tony Stark in the forum. That’s just what we fucking needed. But, I can see this turning into a font for bullshit if somebody doesn’t say something. Someone please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on any of this, by the way. You know how fucking secretive these people are. I’m just going my bit because I don’t want misinformation all over this place._

_So, it’s like this. Odin Borson’s dad founded the Asgard Group. Borson inherits it. Borson decides he’s a politician, not a businessman, and decides he’s going to hand the business off to his kid at the earliest opportunity. Borson has other people manage the business. Gets that law degree. Gets into politics. Hands off the business to his wife. (He still gets the damn money this way, though. You notice that?) The election comes round and wouldn’t you know it, Odin’s DA like he wanted. But his eldest son – that’s Thor Odinson, and you’d be forgiven for not having heard of him—doesn’t want The Asgard Group and goes off doing his own thing._

_Now see if you ask me that whole investigation thing was bullshit. Anyone will tell you Borson’s as diligent as they fucking come. If you’re not in his jurisdiction he WILL contact the people who can come after you. But despite that, people are still dwelling on shit, like_ **_@scarletwitch_ ** _kindly pointed out for us, CAME TO NOTHING. The investigation is where I get a little sketchy on the details, but here’s what I do know:_

_Borson’s first campaign manager was fired. Don’t ask me why. He ended up working for someone who Borson hates and I guess it was all the political shit you’d expect. Next thing you know, people are saying the Asgard Group had something to do with insider trading, and where’s the evidence of that? All seems pretty suspect; I think you’ll agree. Don’t sit there speculating about shit. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. If you find some evidence, by all means share it with the right people, but I’m here now before you guys get ahead of yourselves when whatever the hell happened with that first suspicion, you know, CAME TO NOTHING._

_Look, last time I checked this forum is meant to be about using what we know to and can prove to point things out. And I know the Stark thread is at over 500 pages now and this one sits at 98, but maybe that’s because we have nothing. We do have nothing. Sit in this forum and talk about Borson all you want. But like I said, I’m here now before you guys lose it to remind you all NOT to speculate. That’s not what we’re about here._

  * _Interactions: Informative x 4, Like x 6_



 

Loki could have so many thoughts about that post. It was lengthy, bitter, but, most importantly, it seemed informed. There was a great deal left out, clearly. Despite the obvious frustration, Loki very much got the impression that this person knew more than they were saying, and what they were saying seemed to show a great deal. The fact that they cared enough to know what kind of man Odin was, that was telling in itself.

“Do you know Nick Fury?” Maria asked when Loki returned her laptop.

“I’ve spoken to him on the phone.” Loki sighed. “But that could well be him.”

“That was him. I know the username. And you need to speak to him. I can tell that you don’t want this getting more personal than it needs to. Neither do I. I don’t want him too involved,” said Maria, “but he knows Coulson. You might be able to get information out of him.”

“Mm.” Loki nodded, once. “You may be right.”

“I am.” Her eyes were dark. “Find a way to talk to him.”

x-x-x

It was at the top of the stairs that he was surprised. He noticed Killian and Nelson rounding a corner. It seemed that they were heading in the direction of the bathrooms.

Loki took a few steps forward so that he could catch sight of the conference room. Tony and Natasha were both standing, but he could only just see them. He couldn’t see enough to make out what they were doing.

He considered. He was tempted, more than he wanted to be, to enter the conference room and ask if everything was alright. He knew that should. Tony had hardly attempted to hide that he had been sick with nerves about today. Loki should check on him.

He followed Killian and Nelson. At the corner, he stopped. It was a tad difficult to hide behind glass walls, but they seemed engrossed enough in their conversation that there was little chance of them spotting him for the time time being.

“Did you bring your—?”

“Yes, Foggy. Of course I did. It’s in the car.”

“You could have—”

“I don’t use it at public appearances. You know that.”

“This is a public appearance?”

“Meeting with Tony Stark and his lawyers is a public appearance, yes.”

Everything that Killian said sounded clipped. It was as if he was reading from a script. Nelson appeared more animated, but Loki had trouble discerning if that was due to care or frustration. Nelson, he thought, should not be this difficulty to read.

“Okay. Fine.” Nelson folded his arms. “Did you at least take your—?”

“Of course I did. I do every day. You don’t have to be so worried about me.”

“Okay, when it comes to my clients, I’m always worried. I don’t want you to lose this because of your pride.”

Killian scoffed. “My pride has nothing to do with it.

Nelson threw up it hands. “Whatever. I’m going back in there. You coming?”

Killian opened his mouth, but faltered. His jaw clamped shut. Even from where he stood, Loki could see a tremor in his arm. He fell back against the wall.

“Aldrich?” Nelson prompted.

“I will,” said Killian. His voice shook. “Can you let them know I’ll be with them in a moment?”

“Of course, of course.” Loki couldn’t identify the attitude behind the words.

Loki took a step back as Nelson approached, but he knew that he would be spotted. And he was. Nelson noticed him before even rounding the corner. He stopped as he passed Loki, looked him up and down, and tutted.

“You know, if I were a better lawyer, this would be damaging my reputation,” he said. Surely Killian could hear him.

“Ah, I doubt it,” said Loki, injecting nothing into his voice.

“Hm. Guess you’re wrong,” said Nelson. He flashed him a smile that crinkled the skin around his eyes, and was gone.

Within seconds Loki heard the sound of a heavy door swinging on its hinges, and looked around the corner to see that it was the door to the men’s room. And, though he knew that he probably shouldn’t, he followed the man who had just entered.

Loki trusted Tony’s word about Killian’s nature. Regardless, at the very least he had enough data to support the conclusion that Killian had been childish … in response to Tony’s childish accusations. He had seen Killian onscreen. He had seen him looking proud, smiling with a twinkle of arrogance in his eye. He knew enough, disliked enough, to be hurt when he felt similar to Tony’s description of the man. He knew what to expect when it came to Aldrich Killian.

And yet.

Killian was leaning against the counter, staring into the mirror and looking like he had run some great distance. His fingers were curled limply as if he lacked the strength to clench his fists. His hands were shaking.

Was this silence acceptable? Despite what information he had, this was still a new man. The way to broach this was … a mystery.

“I knocked over my glass,” said Killian. His voice was rough.

“Hm?”

“I knocked over my glass, Mr. Laufeyson,” said Killian. Finally, he looked up. “My glass of water. My hand jerked and I dropped it.”

The stiffness of his voice made it seem like this, too, was scripted. Loki might finally understand why his demeanor so often made others uneasy.

Loki walked to Killian’s side. He considered, then more or less mirrored the man’s position.

“It’s funny,” said Killian, eyes on his own reflection. “Or, it isn’t. You do everything that they say. Every exercise, every routine. You take everything that they tell you to. You dedicate your career to improving your life, and the lives of those like you.” He looked at Loki, eyes heavy. “And yet, nothing stops the bad days.”

Loki blinked. “I know.”

“Do you indeed?” said Killian, with this twisted smile. “Maybe you do. I don’t know you. I definitely don’t know why you came in here.”

“You seemed … distressed,” said Loki, rather dumbly.

“Nothing bruised but my ego.” Killian blinked several times. He leaned forwards, inspecting himself in the mirror. “Hmm. I—Ah.” His finger went up to his right eye. “I didn’t know that you knew Foggy.”

“We’ve met.”

“Ah, yes. Same tailor.” The twisted smile returned, as Killian leaned even further forward. “I can tell. It’s in the—Damn.”

His body shook and he toppled forwards. His hands clutched jaggedly at the side of the sink. It took a moment, and several deep breaths, but he recovered. And he did so admirably. This was a practised skill.

“Forgive me, I…” He shook his head. “It’s my contacts, I think. They’re not helping.” He turned towards Loki. “I’m sorry, can you…?”

Loki nodded. He took a step forward and acquiesced to Killian’s request, though he might admit to having no idea what he was doing.

“Thank you,” said Killian. He coughed. Blinked. He seemed uncomfortable. “Can I ask you, Mr. Laufeyson, did you check on me because you’re the babysitter?”

“Perhaps.”

“Hm. Funny that he needs a babysitter,” Killian said. “You’re a crisis manager, yes?”

“Among other things.”

Killian considered him for a moment. “Is he the one in crisis? I’m the one who lost my contracts. And I was doing good work, Mr. Laufeyson. Perhaps I never made the papers, but I was doing good work.”

Loki nodded, frowning. “And did you say as much to Miss Romanoff?”

“Oh, I will, should the need arise.” It seemed that suddenly, the look on his face was earnest. It was more genuine an expression than Loki had yet to see on Killian.

“Should the need arise,” Loki repeated with mock grandiosity.

“Oh, yes,” said Killian. “Your Mr. Stark’s crisis exists because he was cruel to me, Mr. Laufeyson. He shouldn’t have accused me of being an idea thief. Surplus to requirements. That’s what he considers me. But at the very least, I helped people with my work. I’m no merchant of death.”

Loki wished that he could tell if the shade to Killian’s voice was pride, or arrogance.

“I know, I know. Clean energy. Good boy,” said Killian, before Loki could speak. “But what was that, Mr. Laufeyson? Was that guilt? Was that shame?” He held up his hand, and just the smallest tremor could be seen in it now. “I can’t help anyone now. I’m scrambling to find MIA a position to replace the one that it lost.”

“And why have you said nothing of this to the media?” Loki asked, and with genuine curiosity.

Killian scoffed. “I got affection in the forums, Laufeyson, but Stark is the sweetheart. Stark will always be the sweetheart. And he doesn’t need you. Perhaps he is hated by the odd individual, but he’s adored by the people who matter. And I am the reverse.”

“Mm.” What had prompted this sharing? It was interesting, certainly, but Killian’s openness with a man working for Tony Stark was … suspicious, to say the least.

“I would talk about disability if asked, but they don’t ask. I cling to notoriety on Tony Stark’s shoulders. But that’s okay.” He grinned, suddenly. It didn’t match the tone of his voice. “I don’t want pity.”

Loki blinked. He broke eye contact for a moment, and caught his own reflection in the mirror. His expression was harrowed. There were noticeable bags under his eyes, even now. Killian didn’t look dissimilar in that respect. Perhaps connecting Tony’s description of Killian to himself hadn’t been poor judgement. Loki’s impression was certainly that Killian was playing this discussion tactically.

“That, at least, I understand,” said Loki. “I rather detest pity.”

“Good,” said Killian with a smile.

“Have you got your assessment of me, yet?” There was still a hint of a smile on Killian’s lips. It faded in an instant.

Loki shrugged.

“I shouldn’t stay in here for too long.”

Loki smiled. And he found, despite himself, that it was genuine. “I’ve hidden in here myself, Dr. Killian. You needn’t be ashamed.”

“Thank you,” said Killian, brow furrowed. He paused for a moment, then pulled a pair of glasses—no frames—from his pocket. “Foggy told me not to wear these. He told me that you’d dress Mr. Stark.”

“I don’t believe that I did anything of the sort.”

Loki held the door open for Killian, and followed him down the hall on the other side. He was still suspicious about the conversation that had just taken place. While it had seemed to be the case that he was genuinely shaken, there had still seemed to be a strategy to what Killian had said. They were well within eyesight of Tony, Natasha, and Nelson in the conference room when Killian stopped him.

“So what _does_ your job entail, Mr. Laufeyson?”

“Dressing Mr. Stark.”

“Of course.” He appeared less than satisfied with that answer. He leaned against the nearest wall. Took a breath. “I can’t do my job, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“I know.”

“It was taken from me.”

“I know.” Loki considered. “I did hear that you’re attending an event with some Brooklyn police officers.”

“I happen to know someone,” said Killian with a jagged shrug. “A Sergeant Barnes.”

“I’ve made his acquaintance,” said Loki stiffly.

“So I’ve heard.” He laughed. “I thought New York would be bigger than this. And it is a shame that Sergeant Barnes has for so long been limited to the role of desk jockey. Apparently, they think he’s unstable.”

“Untrustworthy, is what I head,” said Loki.

Killian looked thoughtful for a moment, then slid his glasses on. “Foggy will be disappointed.”

“Never.” Loki nodded towards the conference room. “Go on, Dr. Killian.”

Killian nodded. He walked slowly, his balance clearly not there, in that direction, saying as he passed, “Thank you, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“Of course,” Loki said. He didn’t trust Killian’s words.

As Killian opened the door, Loki made eye contact with Tony. He shook his head, hoping that it would communicate enough, before walking in the direction of Natasha’s office with intent to commandeer it.

x-x-x

It seemed that Barnes had not acquired a cell phone. Loki, having stolen Natasha’s desk, was able to contact him only because he was at work. Barnes insisted—perhaps the first thing he said—that he had nothing to do with Killian’s invitation. He was used as the excuse. He couldn’t say who had wanted Killian there.

“Anyway, the event is political bullshit,” he concluded. “Nobody wants big business to appear at odds with law enforcement.”

“Is Dr. Killian ‘big business’?”

“Apparently. But maybe, if they invited him, that means they can’t invite your Stark. He seems like a weird one to go for.”

“Mm.” Though, it would seem that nothing would make up for Killian’s lost contracts. “Regardless, I’m sure you know why I called.”

“Coulson?”

“Barton Romanoff’s private investigator offered her help.”

“Yeah. Great.”

“I’d only say, you needn’t be too fearful. His target is Odin.”

“And that means that he won’t—?”

“Sergeant,” said Loki, “my job isn’t to stop what is happening, nor do I intend it to be. But, I do believe that it’s not in our best interest to assume that anything will happen.”

“I know.”

“I’m sure Odin will not allow this to go too far. He’s … more ruthless than one might think.”

“Whatever you say,” said Barnes. As he said it, the door opened, though Loki had been too deep in thought to notice anyone approach. “Just tell me when I _should_ be worried, okay?”

“When you should be, I will.”

“Great.” And he hung up.

Dropping his phone into his pocket, Loki looked up. It was Tony. But of course. He was standing just in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. And his sunglasses on.

“It’s bright in here,” Tony observed, looking in the direction of the large windows that were more or less the entirety of the walls. “Romanoff’s gone to a meeting … somewhere. But she told me to tell you to stop stealing her office.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Don’t look at me like that.” Tony made this clicking noise. “Killian is wearing his glasses.”

“He had to take his contact lenses out. How did it go, Mr. Stark?”

“Can I tell you about it?”

Loki raised his eyebrow. “Would you care if you couldn’t?”

Tony sighed theatrically and fell onto Romanoff’s couch. “Wow. That was like falling onto rocks.” He hit the couch twice. “It was terrible, by the way. It was terrible. And…”

“And?”

“He lost a job that he cared about because of what I said when I was drunk. And he …” He sighed, taking his glasses off again. “He seemed to _really_ care about that work too.”

“I think he did, yes,” said Loki. He kept his tone even.

The phone on Natasha’s desk rang. Loki picked it up, making contact with the man in the opposite office, who too was holding a phone in his hand.

“Hey,” said Clint, “if you’ve stolen Natasha’s office, can you see if she was lying about getting my email this morning? You have her password, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Of course she gave it _you._ Don’t read anything, though. Confidential, or whatever. Just check mine.”

“Mm-hmm.” Keeping the phone to his ear, Loki entered the password with his free hand and went about his task.

“Did Killian hide in the bathroom?”

“He had to remove his contact lenses.”

“Right. I just … I noticed that you were talking to him.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not jealous.” He looked up and away, and said quietly, “I don’t even like you, or whatever.”

“I am relieved that that is a joke.”

“Fuck.” This from Clint. “I should have put the phone down.” But he didn’t.

Tony shook his head. “He’s still an asshole. You should’ve heard him when he came back in. I don’t know what it is but he sounded … pleased with himself. Is that a thing you can pick up in someone’s voice?”

“Do you really want me to answer that, Mr. Stark?” Loki asked. Then, “It’s in her spam folder.”

“Oh, wonderful. That makes me feel so much better.” Clint sighed. “I hate this job. Have fun being professional.”

Clint having hung up, Loki leaned back in Natasha’s chair. “Are you alright, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah. I guess. It was just seven hundred hours of Killian telling Romanoff why I suck, so.” He grinned. “I had a great afternoon.”

“As did I.”

“Oh, yeah. You were with Maria Hill, right?” Tony coughed. “Was that, uh, less terrible than my thing?”

“She showed me some entries in Odin’s Jormungand thread. It was … interesting.”

“Is that right?”

“It was one entry in particular.” Loki bit his lip, not sure if he should share. Something about the surprisingly earnest look on Tony’s face, however, prompted him to say, “I should speak to Coulson. I know that I should. But that may seem a tad … suspicious.”

“What, you not a master of subtlety?”

Loki chuckled. “If I’m honest, Mr. Stark, I’d rather not have to deal with it.”

“Yeah.” Tony slid forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “So, let’s get it out of the way. Deal?”

Loki frowned. “If you’re offering—”

“I am,” said Tony. “Oh, sorry. Interrupting.”

“You know Nick Fury, correct? I’ve only ever spoken to him on the phone.”

Tony frowned. “I know him, sure. Keeps asking me to join his boyband.”

“Uh huh.”

“I could … convince him to talk to you, if it would help.”

“It may, thank you.”

“Just don’t take my spot in his boy band. I’m keeping that in case the billionaire playboy thing goes south. And…” Tony clicked his fingers, pointing at him. “And, not to go high school again, or anything, but I’m getting my second date, yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki was sceptical of Tony’s behaviour. But why … that was a mystery.

“Great!” Tony stood up, then stopped, pressing his fingers to his temples. “I’ve got it. You don’t even worry about it.”

Loki smiled. “Very well.”

“Cool.” Tony clapped his hands together. “I’ve got to go to work. You … have fun with your Romanoff impression.”

“Mm.”

Tony crossed the room and leaned across the desk. “I have to warn you, though, I’m insanely romantic. By which I mean that kids have outdone me with fucking promposals.”

Loki laughed.

Tony kissed him, knocking over Natasha’s pen pot. “And hey,” he said, looking suddenly uncomfortable, “at least we managed to distract your brother.”

Loki chose, “Mm.”

Tony nodded, tapped his head, and exited without another word.

Natasha’s phone rang again. As soon as Loki answered, Clint said, “You better clean that up, Odinson.”

“It’s Laufeyson,” said Loki. He put the phone down, and immediately straightened the pot and returned the pens. He felt, suddenly, rather nauseated.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, I ran a poll on [my Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss) about what to upload next because sometimes I'm indecisive so that's a reason to check out my social links if you're at all interested. The fic that I uploaded because of that poll was [Despite the Constellations](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11749068/chapters/26478945ariankiss), another frostiron if you need a fix.
> 
> Thanks for reading, guys! I love you! 
> 
> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	16. Everyone and Their Mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd just like to thank you guys for your continued support. Every read, kudos, and comment really do mean a lot to me. I'm not just saying that. It's hard to find time to write at times when life keeps throwing things at you, but you guys have kept me going. So, really. Thank you.

Loki sat at the old computer in his living room, reading through Nick Fury’s posts on Jormungand. He had asked Tony to contact Judge Fury about a meeting on his behalf. He was trying to calculate the best way to get Judge Fury to give him the information that he wanted. He didn’t believe that Fury would be selflessly forthcoming. 

Loki started as his phone rang. Funnily enough, “F. Nelson” was on the screen. It was a moment’s consideration before he decided to answer. He was curious. The break from thinking about Coulson and Judge Fury would be welcome, too. 

“Hello, Foggy,” he said. He shut down the computer as he did so. He could admit to himself that he should use this prompt to stop obsessing. 

“Loki!” said Nelson with unexpected cheer. “I hope I’m not bothering you. I keep lawyer hours. It’s a nightmare for everyone. But for me especially.” 

“You’re not disturbing me,” said Loki. He suspected suddenly that Nelson might possess Tony’s tendency to babble. He moved to the couch, picking up an obstructing book and dropping it onto the couch’s arm. “How can I help you?”

“I’m buying another suit from that guy. I think I have too much gray in the wardrobe, and that last one was pretty decent.”

“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”

Was this truly what Nelson had called to discuss? Loki lacked the energy for something so mundane. But, he would persevere.

“I am, thanks. And he wasn’t a serial killer! I mean, no offense, but I kinda suspected that he’d be a serial killer.” 

“Mm.”

“Okay. I get it,” said Nelson, voice rising in pitch. “I’m being weird. I’m like, consorting with the enemy.”

Loki chuckled for the show of it. “Hardly.” 

“I just wanted to thank you again. That’s not weird. Feel free to tell me how awesome I look when I next see each other. If we next see each other.”

“I have no doubt that we will.”

“Oh yeah? You’re gonna be spending a lot of time helping your rich guy out when the lawyers are around, are you? Because I really didn’t know why you needed to be there today. Babysitting your rich guy.” He let out a breath of laughter that rattled with static. “And before you say anything, my rich guy is not as rich as your rich guy.” 

“You’re welcome, Foggy.” Loki did want this conversation to end. He didn’t even know what had prompted Nelson to start it, despite his explanation. People were more of a mystery than they had any right to be.

“Oh my god. I’m annoying you. I thought you seemed too polite, but I guess—”

With a sigh, Loki said, “Forgive me. I’ve had … a difficult day.”

“I was kidding!” said Nelson defensively. “I’m not an ass, I promise. Sometimes people think I’m kind of a jerk because I lack my partner’s tall-dark-handsome … whatever, but I think I carry off being the lovable, huggable sidekick.” 

Loki smiled.

“And if it makes you feel any better? I totally get you.” It was odd, but Loki could picture every movement of Nelson’s as he spoke. His voice suited him so completely. “I’ve had the shittiest day.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Loki hoped that he didn’t sound too distracted. His attention had been caught by the book beside him.  _ Introduction to Civil Litigation _ . Call it fate. When had he been reading that? 

With a laugh, Nelson said, “Yeah. Thanks. I guess you get it. You’ve been seeing this whole thing from the Barton Romanoff side.”

“To some extent.” 

“Is it breaking attorney-client privilege to tell you that I think Killian’s an asshole?”

Loki straightened. “Oh, you believe so?” 

“I mean, I guess so,” said Nelson. “Don’t get me wrong, you guys are  _ screwed _ . But every time Killian’s in our office he gets all nasty and prickly and nobody wants to be there. Still, guess I can’t complain. He’s not as rich as your guy, but he’s rich enough.”

“It intrigues me, Foggy, to hear you say that. It doesn’t quite fit the Nelson and Murdock reputation.” He hated Nelson’s nickname more every time that he said it.

“Okay, first off, it’s bullshit to claim that we’re well-known enough to have a reputation. And, second? He’s not our client, technically. He’s my client. That’s the deal me and Matt struck, see. Did you not know that?”

“I did not.” 

“Yeah, well, Matt doesn’t always stick to his mission statement, but I guess he has more morals than me or something. I don’t know.” He sighed, once again aggravating the static. “And you know how it is. Lawyers are the scum of the earth. Apparently.”

“I’ve spent enough time on political campaigns to assure you that they’re not.” 

“Oh, so you hate politicians.”

“No. I hate campaign managers.”

A moment, then, “That’s introspective. I like that.” A pause, then, “Maybe I bring the scum reputation on myself. My mom wanted me to be a butcher, you know.”

“Ah.” Loki stood, and began the journey across the room to return his book to the shelf. “My mother wanted me to be a senator. She probably still does.” He slid the book onto the shelf. Huffed. “I will admit, though, I’m not putting my law degree to any use.”

“Oh, shit. You have a law degree. And an accent. And your family is rich. I  _ hate  _ you, you bullshit fairy tale Prince Charming.” The words were very Tony Stark.

Loki laughed. “But, I have no doubt that despite everything you will represent Dr. Killian to the best of your ability.”

“Are you being a dick right now? I can’t tell.” Loki allowed silence as he returned to the couch, before Nelson continued with, “I’ll do my job. You do yours. We’ll all be fine, right?”

“I do hope so,” said Loki. “And, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but did you call only to tell me about the suit?”

“And that Killian’s an asshole because they won’t let me talk about him in my office and I’ve got the biggest injustice headache from it. Guess I know what motivates Matt now.” He chuckled. “But, also, I wanted to say, uh…” Loki sensed some struggle when he said, “That suit guy—creepy as he is—he’s a bit of a lifesaver right now. So, if you need anything let me know.”

“He did charge you, did he not?”

“Listen, I’m a nice guy. Accept my niceness.”

Loki chuckled, though he regretted it the second that he did. He thought for a moment. What could he possibly have cause to ask Nelson for? He’d thought nothing of it when he had sent over the information. He didn’t expect Nelson to contact him again afterward, and certainly not to this degree. He was about to tell Nelson that there really was no need for any such thing when—

“I’ll give you the details if I need some help.”

“You pulling some subterfuge bullshit?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Okay, cool.”

“Quite.”

Loki intended to hang up—he still had no idea what had prompted Nelson to desire such a long discussion—but he was caught by Nelson saying, “Okay, settle a bet for me.”

“Uh. Very well.” That shouldn’t have caught him off guard so. He didn’t like this phone call at all.

“Okay. And you’re allowed to hang up on me for asking, but I don’t throw away twenty bucks.” A grandiose clearing of the throat. “Are you sleeping with Stark?”

Ah.                 

Were it anyone else, Loki might well have taken that offer to hang up. But, strangely, he found himself making a joke. “How many times does one have to in order to constitute ‘sleeping’ in the present tense?”

Nelson spluttered. “Jesus. That’s professional.” He cleared his throat. “But, I knew it. That’s a win for me.”

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. “And with whom are you making such wagers?” 

Silence, then a nervous, “Uh, attorney-client privilege?” 

Loki wanted to swear. Instead, he said, “I despair.”

“Yes. Well. We’re not all blessed with the wealth of an accent,” said Nelson, as if that actually meant something. “Look at me. Nearly made back the cost of this suit already. Hey, uh, how about I let you go back to your evening?”

“If you wish,” said Loki.

“You know what? I think I do. Nice talking to you there, Loki.”

“Likewise,” Loki returned. And oh, would that it was a lie.

Nelson hung up with an awkward goodbye. Then, a few seconds later, his heart froze. What, just  _ what _ , had possessed him to share that information with Nelson? What, when he heard the phrase “attorney-client privilege” and assumed Killian, had prevented him from telling Nelson to keep the shared information to himself? 

Fuck.

Loki went to his bedroom and plugged in his phone on the cluttered nightstand, as per routine. The back of his mind questioned how long those three glasses had been on the table beside the bed, but he had to focus. Could Loki afford such lapses in guard as the one which had just occurred? 

Perhaps asking for Tony’s help had been a mistake, also. There was a strange feeling of something crushing his chest. He wanted to move away from Odin, and from helping him, but had accepting Tony’s help been the best decision? 

Loki’s phone beeped.

  
[From: Thor   
21:37

_ Is it true? Is it true about you and Tony Stark? He’s on TV. _ ]

[To: Thor   
21:40

_ Give your uncle his phone back, Vali. _ ]

[From: Thor   
21:40

_ Well, I didn’t have your phone number. _ ]

[To: Thor   
21:42

_ You have it now. Do you not have school tomorrow?  _ ]

[From: Thor   
21:43

_ Fine. But really, is it true?  _ ]

[To: Thor   
21:44

_ Yes. _ ]

[From: Thor   
21:45

_ That’s awesome. _ ]

  
Loki felt a heart attack on the horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss) / [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/librariankiss/)


	17. Cloak and Dagger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony plans what he deems the worst and weirdest date of all time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bumped this chapter up my to do list because I really wanted to get the edits on it done. It was exciting. As I said last time, the support I've received from you guys really means a lot to me. You're all awesome. Thanks for reading. x

Tony Stark and planning a date. Kind of a clash of concepts. But then, so was Tony Stark and dating. There were more than a few people who could attest to that. But, he’d taken on the role of planning here. So fuck it. He was going to do his best. Plan the worst and weirdest date that he could.

In an act that was growing ever more frequent, he told Happy to take the day off. And despite this being a _date_ —more or less, anyway—Happy seemed reluctant to let Tony go off alone. In an “I don’t trust you with this stupid scheme of yours,” kind of way. And in the end, Happy got his way. Bastard drove Tony to Loki’s apartment.

“I don’t need a chaperone.”

“Sure you do. Mom wants you home before dinner.”

“I hope you mean Pepper,” said Tony, opening the car door. “But even if you do, that’s fucking weird.”

Tony dragged Loki down from his front door by the sleeve of his stupid coat without a word. He almost fell into the back of the car. Loki, meanwhile, entered smoothly, smirking at Tony. Asshole.

“Hey,” said Tony, once the door was shut.

“Good afternoon.” Loki’s eyebrow was raised.

“So, uh, to clarify, this  _is_ a date. I think,” said Tony. “That’s why it’s weird that Happy’s here.”

“Hi.” Happy turned around, looking profoundly uncomfortable. “I’m Happy.”

Loki’s smile seemed to match Tony’s discomfort. “Pleased to meet you.”

“And you.” Happy turned away, and, over the fresh rumble of the car, said, “Feels like I’ve met you. _He_ won’t shut up about you.”

“Thanks for that, Happy,” Tony grumbled. “He’s actually here because he wants to babysit me. I came up with this _brilliant_ scheme for today and he doesn’t trust me to deal with it.”

Happy cleared his throat.

“A ‘brilliant scheme’ is it?” Loki was clearly skeptical.

Tony bit his lip. He was getting damn sick of people not trusting him.

Actually … fuck. If his friends were anything to judge by, then he wasn’t worth trusting. When he told Pepper about the deposition she’d tutted, actually fucking  _tutted_ , at his attitude.

“Just so you know, if you two start doing anything inappropriate then I will drive into oncoming traffic,” said Happy. “I’m not going through that again.”

Tony looked at Loki, expression serious. “I’m the worst.”

Loki shook his head, but at least he was smiling.

x-x-x

Happily, Tony hadn’t historically spent that much time around the courthouse. He wondered if Loki could say the same. In a different reality, court might have been Loki’s home away from home. But, they were in this reality, where Tony caught sight on Loki’s phone of the fact that the Stark Smack Down thread on Jormungand was over five hundred pages long. And dealing with _that_ was Loki’s job.

And so was what they were going to deal with here.

Happy was mumbling about courthouse anxiety. Something about lawyers and criminals and escapes because _they’re in normal clothing_ and Tony wasn’t following any of it. But in a Happy way, it was adorable.

“Listen, Happy. Buddy.” Tony was leaning forward over the front seat. “If you’re happier out here, stay out here.”

Happy nodded, shoulders hunched. “Let me know if you need rescuing.”

“That’s the spirit.” Tony patted him on the shoulder.

Happy returned to his mumbling as Tony exited the car with a wave. Loki did the same, but seemed preoccupied with his phone as they entered the building.

“You okay there, Loki?”

“It’s Thor. He wants to know where I am.”

“Oh,” said Tony. “What did you tell him?”

Loki stopped dead in his tracks, which was no doubt a real pain in the ass to all the people who now had to push past him. He surveyed Tony for a long moment before saying, “That I’m with you.”

“Oh,” said Tony again. _Calm down, dumbass._

Loki dropped his phone into his pocket. “Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah?”

“Am I allowed to ask what we’re doing here?”

“Oh. Right.” Tony’s best guess that Loki had a pretty good idea already, but… “See, romantic soul that I am, I figured you deserve some help with you dad—”

“He’s not—”

“—so to make the date … I don’t know, I thought I’d help you out.”

Loki cocked his head. “Is that your idea of a date?”

“You stole your brother’s table and made me pay for dinner.” And, when Loki frowned, “No, it’s fine. Exploit the billionaire.”

Loki quirked his eyebrow.

“You asked me to talk to Fury, okay? So I did, and he told me to come down here.”

Loki was frozen for a moment, but then he smiled. A subdued smile, but it was there. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“See? Romantic. Plus, I brought a third person, so I can’t get anything but a ten out of ten.” He scanned the room and felt his heart skip—for some reason. “Come on.”

It was busy. Not crushingly busy, but this place had a heightened emotion that made it feel like everybody was taking up twice the space that they actually were. It had this, “Oh, I’m so important,” vibe about it, too. Kind of like the Asgard Group. Actually, since he was getting sued and all, what would being here do for his public image?

“Everyone here has more important things to worry about than you, Mr. Stark,” said Loki. Fucking mind reader. “And even if anyone did care, the public doesn’t know as we do. If Killian criticized it then he would be criticizing you for visiting a family friend who knew your deceased father.”

“Wow, Loki, that’s really manipulative.” But Tony wasn’t being entirely serious. Entirely.

“Which doesn’t matter, Mr. Stark, because everybody here has far more important things on their mind than you.”

Tony looked around and, while he was getting the odd look, it did seem that everyone quickly returned to whatever else had been occupying them. He was barely a blip on the radar. Sucked to be one of those stressed, pacing people that he could see, sure, but the anonymity was more welcome than he knew people would expect of him.

“Imagine if the thing with Killian ended up here,” Tony said. Fuck, he should probably be passed calling ‘the thing with Killian’ by now.

“I’d not think about that, Mr. Stark.” Tony barely heard it, as it coincided with a man yelling at a woman yelling at a woman in a pantsuit further down the hall.

“Right.”

Loki looked away from Tony. Scanned a sign on the wall. “Judge Fury is in court right now.”

And suddenly, he was gone. Tony followed. It seemed that Loki had no qualms about slipping through the door (and the bastard outside it actually give him an “Afternoon, Loki,” which made Tony fucking suspicious) and hiding at the back of the gallery. It was more shameless than Tony expected from Loki. Tony didn’t complain, though, not wanting attention from those watching the proceedings. (Why did court proceedings get such an audience anyway? Imagine the one that Tony could stack up.)

Fury quickly caught Tony’s attention. He was sitting with his chin resting on his hand and watching the skinny, slimy guy reeling off some story on the stand. He looked bored shitless. Good old Fury.

“Sir,” Fury said, “I hope you don’t mind me saying that it seems like you’re dodging the question.”

“Yeah, well…” The guy squirmed and cleared his throat. “It’s just, I don’t know if I can without—Can I swear?”

Fury sat up straight. He looked offended. It was clearly bullshit. “Not in my courtroom, sir. If you must provide quotes that contain such language, there are any number of swear word replacements which you are free to use. Might I suggest fudge, sugar, or—”

“Booger butt!” Tony yelled. Sure, he was breaking the rule of not drawing attention to himself that he’d only just fucking made, but he didn’t want to be audience to this scene for too long.

Fury smiled. “Precisely,” he said. “Thank you to the back of the room for that disruption of my court.”

Tony saluted. Loki shook his head.

“Okay.” Fury cleared his throat and spun his chair around. “I think we can all agree that this is getting past the point that any of us can or want to handle, so let’s break for lunch until our friend here has worked out just what the fudge he wants to tell us, shall we?”

A nervous looking lawyer raised his hand with, “Your Honor—”

“We aren’t all blessed with the best blood sugar,” said Fury. “Lunch. I’ll see you all at two.” He grinned. “I can hardly fluffing wait.”

A _smack_ of wood against wood and Fury was off, vanishing through a door at the back of the room, and beckoning to Tony and Loki to follow.

“That, Mr. Stark, was atrocious,” said Loki in Tony’s ear.

“What? It’s what Fury expects of me. And I didn’t want to spend the whole afternoon in here. Did you?”

Loki grabbed Tony by the sleeve and dragged him through the crowd. It felt like a battle, the walk to the small, book-filled office where Fury was leaning back leisurely in his chair.

“Jesus fucking Christ. What the fuck was that, Stark?”

Having been released from Loki’s grasp, Tony shrugged. “What, so you didn’t miss me?”

Fury turned his attention to Loki. “You had to come, did you?”

Loki was hovering by the doorway, back straight and hands clasped behind his back. “I think that I did, yes.”

Tony knew, he fucking  _knew_ , that Loki was going to be his picture perfect polite self throughout this entire conversation. Frustration bubbled up. He didn’t know if he could ignore it.

“Well, can’t have all good luck.” Fury stood, and, remaining behind his desk, held out a hand. When Loki stepped across the space and grabbed it, Fury said to Tony, “You asked to see me so that you could bring your boyfriend here?”

“He’s not my—Anyway, this is really romantic. Because I’m being _helpful_.”

“Uh huh.” Fury clicked his tongue. “It’s good to finally meet you in person, Mr. Laufeyson.”

“Likewise.”

“Mm. I’ve only seen you in that photo in Barton’s dining room.”

“And I hate him for keeping it.”

Tony tried to catch something in Loki’s expression, but he couldn’t. It was like when he first met Loki back at the Asgard Group building. There was just nothing there.

To avoid being the awkward asshole standing in the middle of the room and contributing nothing, Tony decided to go for being the awkward asshole sitting on the chair in the corner and contributing nothing. He took a picture of the sculpture that Fury had on his end table. A tacky bird. He sent it to Bruce with no comment and kept his phone out for the sake of looking busy. It was easy from where he was to look up and see Fury sitting comfortably in his chair, Loki standing stiffly with his hands clasped behind his back again.

“Barton paints quite the picture of you, Mr. Laufeyson,” Fury said. He was swiveling his chair gently from side to side. “And I’ve met Sif, you know. Is it true that you once shaved her head while she was sleeping?”

“I cut it. With scissors. I assure you, I was very careful.”

Tony had to put a _lot_ of effort into not commenting on that.

“Fuck, I can see why you’re so popular.” Fury held out his hands. “So, what can I do for you?”

“Oh, I think you know.”

“Is that right?”

Loki nodded. He held up his phone and said, “I believe in heroes.”

Tony blinked. “Huh?”

Loki looked at Tony long enough to smile at him, then back to Fury. “A Jormungand user. It’s you.”

“Oh, shit.” With Jormungand mentioned, something clicked. “I recognize that username. They were in my thread, cleaning it up and correcting people.”

“Yes,” said Loki. “The user was also active in the Odin Borson thread, telling people not to claim things of which there is no proof.”

Fury chuckled. “That website is supposed to be about exposing the wrongdoings of people in the public eye, Mr. Laufeyson, but it’s a crowd of tired fuckwits bored with themselves and obsessed with people they claim to hate. They’re not doing real work to help anyone. But I know that because I’ve heard about it. There’s a three-page thread about me on there, somewhere in the shithole. It would be irresponsible of someone like me to be active on that website.”

“Active is correct,” said Loki. Then, reading from his phone, “‘User “ibelieveinheroes” last seen two hours ago in thread: “Darren Cross of Cross Tech trades with Nazis.”’ You see.” Loki returned his phone to his pocket. “How long were you in court today, Your Honor?”

Fury sighed. “Okay, kid, I get it, but you’re gonna have to tell me what you want. I don’t deal in cloak and dagger negotiations.”

“You know why I’m here,” Loki repeated.

“So there’s no problem telling me.”

Loki paused for a moment. He crossed his arms. “Mr. Borson believes that someone is making an attempt to investigate him. He employed me to … take a look.”

“Mr. Borson,” Fury repeated. Even Tony had to admit that Loki had given away a lot with that one. “Surely, Mr. Laufeyson, anyone who hires you is admitting to being in crisis.”

“That is true, but it’s my job to deal with that.”

Fury nodded. He cleared his throat. “I don’t believe that I can help you, I’m afraid.”

“That is a shame,” said Loki. “But, I understand. If you—”

Loki was cut off by his phone ringing. He assessed his pocket for a moment as if he couldn’t decide whether or not he should answer.

“You really should’ve turned that off,” said Fury. Hadn’t said the same to Tony, though, had he? “But, go ahead. Maybe it’ll give you a moment to think of a way to convince me.”

Loki nodded. “Excuse me,” he said, before pulling the phone out of his pocket and saying as he exited, “Yes, hello, Foggy. I must say I wasn’t expecting to—ah, yes. Just mention my name and he’ll be too afraid to—”

The door shutting cut him off.

“Really. He should’ve at least put it on vibrate in a courtroom,” said Fury, as if Tony wasn’t holding his phone right at that moment.

“Yeah, well, Loki doesn’t give a shit.” He wasn’t sure if it was a lie or a fresh revelation. “And that’s a general comment. He doesn’t have a very specific hang up about obeying your courthouse cell phone rules, or…” Sensing babbling, he clamped his mouth shut.

“It’s funny. I’m not sure I really know what to expect from him,” Fury said. “I remember the first time we spoke on the phone. Didn’t sound of note. Very polite. Accent pissed me off a little bit; spent a week trying to work out where it came from if he was born here.”

“Yeah,” said Tony. “I was wondering if he was, like, a lizard in a human skin suit.”

“Barton makes it sound like he’s the biggest asshole on the planet.”

“Yeah, they have a … thing.” Tony frowned. “Maybe he cut off Barton’s luscious locks or something.”

“Ah,” said Fury. He leaned forward. Tony was grateful for the distance between them. “So you know what I’m talking about.”

Tony quickly ran through all the answers that he could give. How many of the possible ways that this could play out would really piss Loki off? Would Loki actually show him if he was pissed off?

“You know, Stark, in this job of mine I’ve got to make a lot of decisions. Got to be ready to say what I think is right.”

“Uh, sure.”

“All I’m saying is,” said Fury, picking up a pen and tapping at the desk with it, “I’ve had bench trials. I have to be able to tell by myself, and…” He smiled. "Guilty.”

“Hey, uh, Fury?” said Tony. “I literally have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“A little while ago now that you met him, right?”

Shit. Sometimes it felt like he’d known Loki forever, but, in reality, he’d met Bruce before he had Loki. Not very long at all.

“Right,” said Tony. “Asshole forgot our anniversary.”

Fury was smirking like he was in on some joke to which Tony wasn’t privy. “And for how much of this time have you and Mr. Laufeyson been … I’m gonna say ‘seeing each other’ to avoid giving myself a fucking heart attack.”

Tony clean dropped his phone, and it landed on the end table next to the bird. “Jesus, Fury. Didn’t expect that from you.”

“Well forgive me, but I don’t know if you’ve ever had to deal with the stress of being interrogated about your online activity while drowning in the unresolved sexual tension of two emotionally fucked in the ass friends of friends.”

Well, at least that was a poetic sentence.

“Unresolved sexual nothing,” said Tony, sliding forward in his seat. “Technically, I’m painting this as our second date so I don’t have to think about doing anything romantic. I mean, this is going to be the worst date that’s ever happened, but…” He popped his lips. “Come on, Fury. You don’t want to be giving me relationship advice.”

“Oh, you’re so fucking right. But here we are.” Fury cocked his head. “So, I hear about an asshole Loki, and I meet the polite one. Which one are you dating?”

Tony laughed. “Give him a break. He’s just…” Fuck. “He’s in pain and he’s trying to cover it.”

“That much is obvious.”

“I believe him when he says that those posts were you.”

“So, what?”

“Fury. Do you know something?”

“I’m not gonna tell you that.”

“Why not?”

Fury stood, slowly, and walked around to the other side of his desk. Once he was leaning against it, he said, “Do you _really_ know why you’re here, Stark?”

Tony shrugged.

Fury let out a breath of laughter. “See, I believe everything Barton told me about that guy. Romanoff’s a different story, but…” He shook his head as if dismissing the thought. “And sure, he and Barton are friends, but Barton says he’s not the nicest guy, so he’s not the nicest guy. So when I see him here being polite, and I see him putting very little effort into getting me to say anything when I _know_ he has to have found the _Bones_ fanfiction—”

“What?”

“—I know then, Stark, that Loki left because he’s convinced that I’ll talk to you.”

Tony fell back in his chair. He didn’t want to let his thoughts run away with him here.

Fury frowned. “He’s done something like this before, hasn’t he?”

Tony shook his head. “No, uh, not exactly,” he said. He didn’t feel like talking about their first date being to distract Thor. “You really, really don’t want to be giving me relationship advice.”

Fury stood up straight. “So what do you want?”

“An Academy Award for Gary Oldman?”

Fury glad at him.

“Or Will Smith.”

Fury sighed. “Look. Loki’s been gone a while. I think he might be waiting for you. Do you want me to tell you what I know, or do you want to go tell your guy to shove it?”

“I, uh…”

Tony stood. He picked up his phone, nodded to Fury, and walked to the door. He put his hand on the handle. Felt an odd stab of pain. Dropped the handle, turned around, and said, “What do you know?”

Fury frowned for a moment, then shrugged and said, “Alright.” In one surprisingly fluid movement, he was back in his seat. “Okay, so, I’m pretty much convinced that this Odin thing is bullshit. I do know that someone was trying to get something on him, though.”

“Was?”

Fury linked his fingers together and looked at Tony intently. “Honestly? Borson’s about as diligent a DA as you could hope for. He fucking had me looked into because he thought I might be biased. You know, because of Barton Romanoff.”

“Well,” said Tony. He didn’t _want_ to say that he could believe it.

“Oh, shut the fuck up. I’ve been behaving myself. I had them take my name off the wall. The point is that Odin is really fucking on it. All the time. So thinking that he would lapse in his morals doesn’t make any sense to me. Far as I understand it—and, given my position I really shouldn’t be telling you this—as I understand it, there isn’t anything.” He sighed. “I mean, maybe Coulson knows something that I don’t, but as far as I know there’s nothing concrete for him to jump on.”

Tony nodded.

“Look, I know there was a _suspicion_ of insider trading when Borson wasn’t even at the Asgard Group. That suspicion came to fucking nothing because they couldn’t find anything. So no one could have anything concrete on Borson, even if there _was_ something to have.”

“So, why the AUSA? Because one of Coulson’s guys showed up at me and Loki’s…” He coughed. “At our table. And he said that Coulson was being pretty persistent.”

“Who’d want to go after a District Attorney anyway? Especially Odin fucking Borson. Nope, far as I know, and I think I know about as much as I want to, Coulson’s doing this alone. Just Coulson. And he can’t have anything.”

“And that’s it?”

“Yep.” Fury sighed. “And it’s more than it should be. I can’t see why someone would be trying to dig shit up when all they have is that failed insider trading investigation. Have you ever heard attorneys arguing about the statute of limitations on insider trading, Stark?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

“I think I’m in the wrong line of work,” said Fury. “But, that’s all I know. If your boyfriend wants more then he’ll have to go to Coulson.”

“So you don’t know if anyone else could be trying to start anything?” Tony asked. He wanted to see if he could get Laufey’s name out, though he wondered if Fury would know it.

“No,” said Fury. “Go to Coulson.”

“Okay. Thanks,” said Tony. He opened the door.

“Oh, uh, Stark?”

“Yeah?”

“Good luck with that one.” He pointed to the door. “You really know how to pick ‘em.”

“I do, actually. See you ‘round, Your Honor.”

“Fucking better.” He cocked his head. “You got a fun date planned? Can’t get worse than this, can it?”

“I, uh…” Tony frowned. “I think I need caffeine.”

“So you’ll go to the same place that you always do to get it, right? Sounds like fun.”

“Yeah. Well…”

And with that, Tony made his exit.

  
[To: Happy  
13:10

 _Hey, Hap. Where’s Loki right now?_ ]

[From: Happy  
13:12

 _With me, at the car. He’s been on the phone the whole time._ ]

[To: Happy  
13:12

 _Thanks. I’ll be right there._ ]  


Tony found Loki and Happy outside. Loki was leaning against the car, still on his phone, while Happy sat nervously in the driver’s seat. Tony couldn’t work out what the fuck was going on in his own head. Fury had said a little too much and his brain was working too fast for his own good.

Tony stepped up to Loki and waited for him to hang up on Nelson. (Were they friends? What was the deal there?) Once Loki hung up the phone, Tony relayed the information.

“It’s as much as I thought,” said Loki, “though it does still interest me that he was so active on Jormungand.”

“Yeah, well, Fury cares.” Tony smiled.

Loki took a step towards him, slipping his phone into his pocket. “Thank you, Mr. Stark. Really.”

“Yeah. Of course. Anyway, I’m sure Fury just loved seeing me again. He can’t have been this excited since the invention of the wheel.”

“You have helped. I’m still not certain about speaking with Mr. Coulson, but…” He trailed off there, staring off somewhere into the distance.

“Hey. Go for it. It’ll be fine.” Tony tapped Loki’s chest.

Loki raised an eyebrow.

“Man, I’m really starting to hate that look.” And he wasn’t sure that he was lying, so he decided to cover up the awkwardness that he was probably imagining by kissing Loki.

“Hey. What did I say?”

Tony looked around to see Happy leaning out of the window, glaring at them.

“Hey, this is totally appropriate,” said Tony.

Loki shook his head. “May we leave the courthouse, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah. That sounds good to me. Come on, Happy.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have done this,” said Happy. Tony only just caught the words as he climbed into the car.

“Right. I only need one babysitter, thank you.”

But hey, he wasn’t trustworthy, right?

x-x-x

Of course they went to Tony’s usual diner, despite the distance. It always made Tony encouraged Happy to join them. He’d long since given up on avoiding this being weird. And Happy probably needed the caffeine.

“In most people, caffeine is more likely to increase symptoms of anxiety,” said Loki as they sat.

“Yeah. Well. I owe him that for not trusting me to handle Fury,” said Tony, not at all bitterly.

“He doesn’t drink coffee,” said Happy, staring at Loki’s … whatever that drink was. “What’s up with that?”

“Not everybody drinks coffee, Happy,” said Tony. It earned him a bemused expression from Loki. “Oh, just so you know, if anyone asks I’ll be telling them that this was a three-way date and we’re madly in love.”

Loki drummed the table. “I must confess, I wasn’t sure how to deal with Judge Fury.”

“Right. You couldn’t out _Game of Thrones_ him.”

Loki smiled. He rested his hand on Tony’s knee.

“Stop that immediately,” said Happy. “I admit it. I should’ve just trusted you to deal with it.”

Yeah, maybe. But Tony was prevented from saying so by Loki’s phone beeping.

“Mm, it’s my son,” Loki said.

“Huh.” Tony didn’t know what to say.

“It can wait.”

“Okay.”

“Wait,” said Happy. “You’re dating a guy with a kid? You.”

“Officially, so are you,” said Tony.

Happy turned to Loki. “We should quit. Both of us. This Friday. Ruin his weekend.”

Loki laughed, and Tony believed that the laugh was genuine. Though he still felt that twist of anxiety, that laugh was enough to lift his mood.

And then he caught the eye of the man on the other side of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right, now on to the rest of the to do list...
> 
> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	18. Rank and File

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Look who it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny because this chapter didn't take a super long time to write and edit, but things ... went awry anyway. Those on my Tumblr and Twitter might get more details on why things DO go awry, but. Anyway! We're here now.

[From: Unknown Number  
14:47

 _I know I shouldn’t have my phone on but you need to talk to Uncle Thor._ ]

[From: Unknown Number  
14:47

 _Not about Tony Stark. That doesn’t count._ ]   


Loki had already admitted that being taken to see Fury was helpful. Fury was a mystery, and he had thought that Tony would know better how to speak to him. As such, he had sent Nelson a text, and Nelson had kindly provided him with an excuse to leave. Faking a phone call never did end well. Loki wasn’t sure how he felt about “Happy,” but he was being nice to Loki, and Loki was hardly in any position to complain. It did seem that everything was going well, until Tony became distracted by a man on the other side of the diner.

“That guy’s staring at us,” he said quietly in Loki’s ear. “I mean, I get it, but…”

Loki turned and saw a man at the counter, cheap mug in hand. He was wearing this gray suit that gave him a dry look, a sort of empty cleanness. Loki had come to associate the look with lawyers. And, indeed, the man was staring at them.

“Phil Coulson,” Loki murmured. “I recognize him.”

He cursed himself for not recognizing him sooner, however. 

“Man, do you think we’ll ever get to go on a date without this shit getting in the way?”

“I still can’t believe this is your idea of a date,” cut in Happy.

“Hey, this is personal. To Loki. That’s romantic,” said Tony, pointing at him. Then, frowning, “He’s still staring at us.”

“Indeed,” said Loki. He had chosen not to maintain prolonged eye contact with Coulson. But, of course, Coulson crossed the room regardless. He was by their table in moments.

“Afternoon,” he said.

“And you, Mr. Coulson,” said Loki. He managed to avoid the temptation to ask if Coulson had a job to be at, but only just.

Coulson nodded meekly, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Hope I’m not disturbing you, I just—”

“You might be,” said Tony with a smile.

“Mr. Stark.”

Coulson smiled as if to cover nerves. “Judge Fury told me that you’d be there. He said you’d been asking about me, and I was in the area so I thought it was…” He smiled, eyes firmly on Loki. “Well, worth a shot.”

Tony coughed. “Well, we—”

“We should go,” said Happy quickly.

Tony looked at Loki as if asking permission. Loki’s eyes moved, for a moment, to Happy. He rested a hand on Tony’s shoulder—which he might admit was a show for Coulson—and said, “I’ll be fine.”

Tony frowned. “Okay,” he said, and he hopped up and let Happy remove him from the diner.

Coulson’s smile widened. He took the seat that Happy had just vacated. “Sorry again for interrupting you. It’s just that—”

“It’s not the first time.”

“Right. Uh. I’m sorry about that.”

“I’m sure you are.”

Coulson appeared hesitant. He said, “And you knew who he was?”

“Mr. Fitz? Yes, you mentioned him on your blog. It was nice of him to set up your computer,” said Loki. He cleared his throat. “Forgive me, but as you chose to come here I assume that you had some point to make.”

Coulson shrugged. “Judge Fury did say that you were asking about me.”

“You’ve been bothering my father,” said Loki. And though the choice of words stung, he knew that it was correct.

“Well, your father—”

“Is a good man, a well-respected member of the community, and is rather distressed by this whole affair. The accusations were made against the Asgard Group, not my father, and regardless, they found nothing.” Loki wondered how much Coulson knew about how Loki was helping Odin.

Coulson looked at him for a moment. His elbows were resting on the table, his fingers laced together. He was leaning towards Loki as if suddenly blessed with confidence. “Okay, I admit that my friends got a little eager. I asked them to back down—but clearly not in time for us to go unnoticed. I just wanted to know if there were any opinions about Mr. Borson. Anything relevant to me. I thought I might have to speak to you eventually, and then I find out that you were helping him. Not to mention your visit to Judge Fury this afternoon.” He looked away for a moment. “And you also did work for Captain Rogers’ precinct, didn’t you?”

“That was a favor for a friend. I can assure you, a precinct isn’t foolish enough to spend public funds on a crisis consultant. I was later compensated by someone else, and I call them clients, but they never officially were,” said Loki. He felt like a politician attempting to cover a scandal by television interview.

“Is Odin so foolish?”

“Sir. He’s my father.”

“I’m just a little concerned. I’m sure you understand.”

“I’m sure that I do.”

Coulson bit his lip, then asked, “So why did Mr. Borson have to ask his son for help, Mr. Laufeyson?”

Loki smiled, the sight out of the corner of his eye of Tony pacing up and down on the street. “Funnily enough, he wanted to know why you’re pursuing him. As I said, it’s been weighing on him.”

“The poor guy. I didn’t mean to cause—”

“He suspected that his old business and political rival might be the cause, but I have to doubt that,” said Loki. Was Tony on the phone?

“Mr. Laufeyson, I—”

“What is it that you want, specifically? Because while I know—”

Coulson raised his finger. Several cards—baseball cards?—tumbled to the floor, but he paid them no mind. He’d removed a piece of paper from his pocket. He slid it towards Loki, who took hold of it with a finger and moved it closer.

“This was given to me by a friend. It’s a copy, and I shouldn’t have it—or be showing it to you—but it lists some evidence here—and you see this mark?” He pointed to the corner of the paper. “That’s a staple. And yet…” He smiled. “No page two. Looks like something that’s been covered up to me.”

Wondering why his focus kept moving to Tony and his cell phone dramatics outside, Loki cocked his head. “Do you watch a lot of crime  dramas, sir?”

“Okay. I get it. Here’s me, rambling like a paranoid. But you see, Mr. Laufeyson, I know about Sergeant Barnes’ past. I know what you covered up.”

“Sir, the conclusion was that Sergeant Barnes was guilty of nothing. I helped because, as I’m sure you know, the rumor of an investigation often does more damage than the investigation itself. Do you truly wish to discredit what has been concluded by law enforcement to be true?”

“I do. I know the reputation that you have in your circle, but you can’t lie to me.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“Okay,” said Coulson, who still appeared to be talking for some reason. “So let me say this. Someone in the Asgard Group has a suspected connection to insider trading. It comes to nothing. Sergeant Barnes is looked into because he has a past, and someone thinks that he pulled in a favor from the Bureau. It comes to nothing. You come in to salvage his precinct’s reputation, and then I hear that you’re helping Odin. Do you see where I might be having trouble?”

“Ah, so you’re a conspiracy theorist.”

“Well, see, Loki, there’s a conspiracy,” said Coulson. Still going. “Sorry for the drama. I know that Mr. Borson abused his office.”

“Say, hypothetically, that he did,” said Loki, as Tony threw his arm up dramatically. “I assume that you know the dangers of so much as thinking of going after Odin, with his reputation and prestige. I’m sure you know that, even if you _were_ right, you have nothing.”

“So this is what you want? You believe Odin amoral, but you still lack the proof to be taking this risk. I take it that’s what I would be for?”

Coulson chuckled. “You, maybe. Or someone else. But I’m not going to let anyone get away with misusing such a position, as you know Odin did.”

“Do be careful, Coulson,” said Loki. He forced himself to smile. “I’ve no doubt that you wouldn’t want to slander Mr. Borson, hm?”

Coulson blinked at him, clearly taken aback. But to his credit, he recovered quickly. “Well, let me say this at least. You aren’t DA. You’re a small-time businessman who won’t even keep the surname that Odin gave you. You’d be a much easier target.”

Quite without meaning to, Loki laughed.

“Mr. Laufeyson—”

“I agreed to help Odin only to find out why you would plague him like this. I don’t think I much like the accusation behind the answer.”

It took a moment for Coulson to react. He nodded.

“Mm.” Loki took out his phone and texted Tony a request to return to the table. It was only moments before Tony did, sliding into the seat next to Loki.

“Hey,” said Tony. He held out his hand to Coulson. “I didn’t introduce myself before. I’m Tony. You’ve probably seen me, you know, all over the place.”

Eyebrow raised, Coulson shook Tony’s hand.

“How’s it going?” Tony asked Loki.

“Ah.” Loki smiled. “I believe I’m being threatened.”

“Oh, really?” Tony grinned at Coulson. “That’s unfortunate.”

Coulson sighed. “I—”

“You’re disturbing us,” Tony said. “I don’t know if you remember me saying.”

Coulson’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth as if he was about to say something. Loki was repaired to rebut when suddenly he felt Tony’s lips against his. Tony pulled away and grinned at Coulson, kissing Loki again when Coulson tried a second time to speak. Eventually, Coulson all but ran away, clambering to collect his baseball cards. He left the paper when Loki rested a hand on it and said, “I assume you have another copy?”

“Well,” said Tony once he was gone, “wasn’t that pleasant?”

“That was rather tactical, Mr. Stark.”

“Yeah. You’re a bad influence. Get sick of him, did you?” Tony rested his arm on the back of his seat. Loki could feel his warmth. “You said his threatened you?”

“Mr. Stark.” Loki took Tony’s hand. “The threat was empty, I think. He doesn’t have much, and that probably frustrates him.”

“Yeah…” Tony was looking away.

“He’s not going to get away with it, Mr. Stark. I’ll certainly not let him near me.”

“Right,” said Tony, frowning. “You told Thor that we were together today, yeah?”

“I did,” said Loki. He suddenly had a horrible suspicion that he knew what the problem was. 

“Sorry. A thought just struck me.”

“Are you alright, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Tony smiled, but it was definitely forced. “But it’s okay, right? With Coulson.”

“I think so. He’s reaching. And, as I say, I’m gathering information, but it’s not my job to fix Odin mess,” said Loki, regardless of the fact that Odin had already brought him into it, and, as Coulson as said, escaping would be difficult. He wanted to change the subject. “At any rate, I was finding it a little difficult to pay attention. You were rather animated.”

Suddenly, Tony’s smile seemed more genuine. “I was telling Fury that he was an ass for telling Coulson what he did.”

“Mm…” Loki shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure what Fury’s motivation is.”

“But it’s not your job to care.” Tony punctuated every word by poking Loki’s chest. “What about…?”

Loki shifted in his seat, clutching his phone. “Are you perhaps asking about Vali, Mr. Stark?”

“Uh. Yeah.”

Loki nodded. “He wants me to speak to Thor—about something other than you?”

Tony frowned again. “I see.” He clicked his tongue. “You should do it.”

“Should I now?”

“Don’t look at me like that. He’s clearly worried, yeah?”

Loki nodded. “He got my number from Thor’s phone. He … didn’t have it.”

“Well there you go,” said Tony with a nod. “You don’t have to do it now because I…” He looked off in the direction of the counter. “I need to ingest a ridiculous amount of carbs before I’m with Pepper and she can judge me. Okay.”

He was up and out of his seat with such speed that Loki laughed. However, he still felt ill at ease. Coulson’s words had unsettled him more than he would admit. He did have to talk to Thor if Vali was asking about it, and … He had to be honest with himself if no one else, no? Tony was uncomfortable. He had jumped up and was hopping on his feet because he was uncomfortable. But, Tony being the man that he was, he wasn’t saying anything.

Tony turned to him, smiling, but quickly looked away. Loki opened the texts from Vali again. After adding a contact, he put his phone away and resolved to deal with it later.

When Tony returned to their table, every word that he said seemed forced.

“Are you alright, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah,” said Tony with a plastic smile. “Why wouldn’t I be? Oh, uh, Happy said he’d be back in a minute. Pepper called him.”

Loki nodded. He looked away and out of the window. “If you’re feeling defensive about Dr. Killian, Mr. Stark, then you’ll have to be a better liar than that.”

“Yeah,” said Tony. “Don’t forget to call your brother.”

x-x-x

Phone to his ear, Loki found a dead ebook reader under an ancient magazine on the coffee table. He picked it up. He’d been wondering where it was. The charger was—where was the charger? Loki shrugged, throwing the reader onto the couch.

Finally, as Loki dug through the magazines to else was there, Thor answered the phone with, “Brother.”

Loki blinked, taken aback. “That was curt.”

“I know. Forgive me. I’ve had a difficult day,” said Thor. “Apologies for Vali. He told me that he—”

“You don’t have to apologize for my son calling me.”

“I know.”

“Mm. Sorry, I interrupted you.”

“I didn’t notice,” said Thor. He cleared his throat. “He shouldn’t have taken my phone. I—Did you call me because Vali asked you to?”

“Of course I did,” said Loki, as if it were something that he would always do.

Thor said nothing. The silence dragged. Loki sighed and went to his couch, prying free the ebook reader that he had just thrown onto it.

“And what is it that has you so worried, Thor?”

“Father.” Of course. “I had another disagreement with him. I didn’t intend for Vali to hear it.”

Loki swallowed. “A disagreement?”

“He hasn’t been taking his medication,” Thor explained, “and he still refuses to tell me anything.”

“You needn’t worry, Thor. He’s trying to protect you.” It was almost sickening to say those words. They were exactly the words that Odin spoke to excuse lying to Loki for so many years about his lineage. Perhaps now he understood it, however. Perhaps now he—

“It’s not my job to deal with his business,” Thor said. “Nor is it yours.”

“Mm.” Loki was getting a headache.

“Did you have a good time today?” There was something suspicious about Thor’s tone.

“Not particularly. I do wonder why this headache has to be so persistent. I assure you, though, I do intend to get this, ah, job out of the way.” As he said this, Loki spotted a cable lying on the floor and picked it up to see if it was for the ebook reader. It wasn’t.

“That’s … good.”

“Are you still uncomfortable about Mr. Stark, Thor?” said Loki with a laugh. “Do we have to speak about this in person?”

There was a long silence. “Yes.”

Loki frowned. Then shrugged. “Very well.” Admittedly, he wasn’t sure about it.

“Ah…” Loki heard this clicking noise. “May I speak to you about something?”

Loki blinked. “Which something?”

“Jane.”

“Ah,” said Loki. “No.”

Thor laughed. “Thank you.”

And, as Loki decided to try and locate that missing charger, Thor launched into a story about his recently strained relationship with Jane. The conflicting work hours, Loki could stand to hear about. The problems that arguments with Odin caused, however, really were a worry.

Loki really needed to get hold of Sergeant Barnes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankfully, I think things are set not to go quite so awry and the next update will be smoother. We'll see, haha.
> 
> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	19. Sick and Tired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A return to Odin's office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was actually pretty excited for the opportunity to write Odin again. It's fun. And, as always, thanks for your support everyone. You guys are just the best.

“What did he have?” Barnes asked. He had stepped out of the precinct for this conversation, Loki believed. No chance that he would allow the wrong person to overhear it. He was using Rogers’ phone.

Loki laughed, empty, staring at a loose thread on his sheets. “A piece of paper. He claims it proves that evidence was tampered with.”

“And that’s—”

“It would be more useful in court, if it were any use at all. And it’s hardly as if any defense couldn’t argue—” Loki sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Right.”

Loki sighed again. “I must ask, Sergeant. Do you know how it was dealt with?”

“Do I…?” There was quiet for a long moment, before Barnes finally said, “No. I have some friends in the Bureau. They owed me a favor. And you know as well as I do that Odin only asked me because he’d heard about my … past. My reputation. And because I’m in Brooklyn. Distance.”

“I know, I know,” said Loki. “Just be sure that you know as much as you can. For your own safety.”

“Of course.” Then, “So, you didn’t take that paper?”

Loki clenched his jaw. “I didn’t. He brought it to provoke me, and I’ll not be provoked. I agreed to find out for certain who was trying to damage Odin’s reputation, and I’ve done that. I’m not interested in fixing his problems.”

“Okay,” said Barnes. Loki couldn’t read his tone.

“And,” Loki continued, “I did for your precinct, and for you, as I was asked to. I called because you…” Yet again, he sighed. He was tired. “You asked me to tell you if you should be worried. And you should at least … You should at least watch yourself.”

Again, Barnes was silent for a moment, before, “Thank you. But I know how to take care of myself.”

“Mm.”

“I still have this job, don’t I?”

“Yes, and you’re welcome. Do be careful,” Loki said. Without another word, he hung up and fell back onto his bed. He had a terrible image of a grand jury that refused to leave his mind’s eye.

  
[From: Tony ;)  
12:41

 _Have you spoken to your brother recently?_ ]

  
Hm. Interesting.

  
[To: Tony ;)  
12:42

 _He wants to speak to me about you when we have chance to meet in person._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
12:42

 _Well, that sounds fun. Let me know how that goes._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
12:43

 _Quite. First, I do have to meet with Odin._  ]

[From: Tony ;)  
12:43

 _Good luck._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
12:44

 _Thank you._ ]

x-x-x

 **From:** Odin Borson

 **To:** Loki Laufeyson

 **Subject:** RE: Update

\----

_Loki,_

_Thank you for the update. If you’re certain that you’re right about AUSA Coulson then I do believe you. But, if you don’t mind, I would like to meet with you in person. Are you able to come to my office on Friday? I’ll see you any time of day._

_Thank you,_ _  
_ _Odin_

 _  
_ Loki arrived at Odin’s office in the early afternoon. Having stayed up unwilling until five o’clock in the morning, and forgetting to set his alarm, it was the earliest that he could manage. Loki was again led by a keen-eyed prosecutor through the building. This man, with a dark expression and disinterested attitude, Loki recognized as Malekith. He was no fan of Odin. He was here because his firm had downsized, in fact. But he was no fan of Loki, either, so his attitude was of no help.

Inside his office, Odin sat at his desk. He kept his eyes on his book as Loki entered, Malekith shutting the door. When Loki last saw Odin, he had been paler and thinner and Loki remembered. And now he was worse. His eyes appeared weak and sunken, highlighted by dark circles.

“Loki,” he said.

Loki smiled. “Sir.” He nodded towards the book. “Is that interesting?”

Odin lifted the book. “Edith Hamilton.”

“Ah.”

Loki crossed the room. His heels clicked on the floor. Too loud. He pulled out a chair—deliberately making it scrape, causing Odin to glare—and took a seat.

Odin took a deep, shuddering breath, flipped a page with his thumb, and read for another minute or so before finally dropping the book onto his desk. Loki found that he had to keep forcing his attention back to the room. 

Once upon a time, Loki loved nothing more than conversing with Odin. He was sharply intelligent, fiercely observant, and he saw _through_ everything. It didn’t matter if he was discussing politics, science, or the arts. It seemed as if he was an expert in everything. And it wasn’t just that, either. Odin was smaller than both Loki and Thor, and he had such a gentle voice. It could be easy for him to blend into the background. He never did. He was intimidating. He certainly intimidated Loki. Loki used to want nothing more than to be exactly like Odin.

Loki wanted to hate him. He did. He used to. It used to be so easy. But now, now he couldn’t. He still wanted distance. He still wanted to be free from feeling as if he always had to do what Odin asked of him. But Loki watched him now, pale, tired, and all he could feel was worry. And it was awful.

“So,” said Odin finally.

“So.”

Odin cocked his head. “Are we sure about this?”

“He showed me the paper himself. He probably sought after it, or at least something like it. You must have given him a reason to think as he does while he was working here.”

“Mm.” Odin’s expression darkened. “And what do I do?”

Loki swallowed. “That’s not my job, Mr. Borson.”

“But I do wonder how I’m supposed to dissuade him.”

“You can’t dissuade noble people from doing the right thing,” said Loki. “If you could, then I imagine that you would have abandoned your work long ago.”

Odin flinched. He looked Loki up and down, then finally said, “I repeat to you that there was no corruption, Loki.”

Loki did have to try very hard not to laugh. “Mr. Borson. AUSA Coulson believes that you abused your office. That’s what sent him on this … mission of his. Perhaps you should reconsider your position.”

“And how so?”

Loki frowned. “He tried to threaten me.”

Odin straightened, but it appeared to take effort. “What?”

“He implied that if I didn’t help him then he would ensure that you and I end up in the same boat, but…” He smiled. “I think we both know that that won’t won’t be the boat he expects.”

Odin nodded, but he failed to meet Loki’s eye. He slouched in his seat. His eyes were so dark. And suddenly, Loki realized. Odin really had no idea what to do.

“Are you alright, Odin?”

Odin’s head snapped up. “I…” He smiled. “Of course. But this is more of a headache than it has any right to be.”

Loki let out a breath. “That I can agree with.”

Odin nodded, smiling. “And Laufey…”

“I’ve seen him nowhere near this,” Loki said, “and I have spent way too much time on Jormungand, so…”

Odin was still smiling which, the situation being as it was, was both comforting and concerning. He said, “You should still—”

“Double check?”

Odin nodded.

Loki chuckled. “I can do that.”

“Thank you,” said Odin.

“Why are you so convinced that he has something to do with this?” Loki asked.

Odin looked at him. Unblinking. Expression reminding him of those days when he would return home from work after a difficult day and refuse to say a word to anyone. He looked terrible. Downtrodden. He looked … defeated. Loki hated this. He wished that he had insisted on having this conversation over the phone.

“You can’t tell me,” Loki concluded. And, when Odin nodded, “Do you think that I’ll accuse you of being paranoid?”

“It’s all that you’ve done so far.”

Loki sighed. “Very well, I’ll see what I can do. But, I have to remind you…” He took a deep breath. “I have to remind you that paranoia does you no favors.”

“As I’m sure you know,” said Odin.

Loki blinked. “Sir …” He cleared his throat and looked around aimlessly. “Thor is still worried about you.”

“There’s no reason to be.” And, when Loki raised an eyebrow, “I’m fine, Loki.”

He said it so firmly. As if he was angry. And perhaps he was. Anger was frightening on Odin. It was always cold. Like ice. Loki had rarely known Odin raise his voice. He never needed to. His anger always seemed just on the edge of exploding, but it never went any further than that. And Odin was tired, and he looked weak, and he seemed, though he was doing what he could to hide it as if everything was getting away from him.

“Odin…”

Odin stood, resting his hands on the desk. “Loki, will you do this for me?”

Loki nodded. “Of course.” He smiled, hoping to clear the air. “At the standard rate of course.”

Odin huffed, shaking his head. “Sometimes I do wonder if you know what you’re doing.”

Loki was there for another twenty minutes or so. During this time, he did what he could do find out more about Odin’s insistence that Laufey had some involvement, but it was to no avail. He was able to get Odin to admit that he was tired of disagreeing with Thor, but that was it. Loki avoided the issue that kept returning, the one that was weighing so heavily on his mind, until finally he said, “And is it true that you haven’t been taking your medication?”

Odin visibly stiffened. “That’s nobody’s business but mine.”

When Loki was on medication, before _Loki_ had stubbornly stopped taking his medication, Odin would ask every single day if he had remembered to take it. Odin was a strange one.

“If you so insist,” said Loki. He sighed, and stood. He needed to leave. This meeting was causing a storm of conflicting thoughts, and at this moment he lacked the energy for them. He needed some time alone to consider everything.

It was as Loki rested his hand on the door handle that Odin next spoke, stopping Loki dead.

“Vali was quite proud that he located his father’s number.” And then, “He does miss you.”

It was less than a second. Loki didn’t move a muscle. But he was overwhelmed. And not with Odin’s cold rage, but with this white-hot burning anger that almost knocked him off his feet. Without turning around, Loki said, “Don’t do that.”

“I’m not doing anything, Loki. I’m concerned for my grandson. He misses his father. He never so much as hears from him.”

“Odin.” Loki turned. “Don’t.”

“Loki, you must agree that this is absurd. He’s upset about the way that you’ve been acting.”

“And he’s upset that you and Thor have been arguing. _Jane_ took the time to tell me this,” said Loki. “And yet, you persist. Please don’t pretend that he’s a concern of yours now. And please don’t try to use him to gain anything. I already agreed to help you.”

“I’m not _using_ Vali for anything.”

“You’ll forgive me, then, for thinking this topic a bit of a non-sequitur.” Loki took a step forward, crossing his arms. “You have, and you may, use me for your ambitions if you so insist, but you will not do the same to my son.”

Odin shook his head. “You don’t even speak to your son.”

Loki didn’t say a word in response to that. Instead, he laughed, turned on his heel and returned his hand to the door.

“I thought that you pledged not to lose your temper.”

Loki’s grip on the handle tightened. “I haven’t lost anything.”

“You’ve lost more than you bargained for.”

Loki exited without another word. He didn’t make it out of the building, instead finding a bathroom and ducking inside. He wondered if there was any irony in this, and quite what this said about his character. The only thing that he _knew_ was that yet again he really desired to punch a wall. Loki really should have left this for a phone call.

And, of course, by the curse of fate, this thought made the phone ring. Loki retrieved this cell from his pocket, hoping that it wouldn’t be the worst person who could call in that moment. And it wasn’t. But, Miss Potts was definitely second or third.

“Hello,” said Loki cheerfully.

“Good afternoon,” Virginia said. “Are you alright?”

“Hm.”

“Are you sure?”

Loki knew, of course, that he should be expecting more of Virginia Potts. She was perceptive. One would have to be, to be friends with Tony for so long.

Hmm … If Loki _were_ to punch through the mirror, would they know that it was he who did so?

“An awkward meeting,” he decided finally. “Not my favorite client.”

“Who _is_ your favorite client?” Lok could hear the smile in her voice.

“I did represent a favorite musician of Mr. Barton’s, after one event. It was funny.”

Virginia chuckled. “Well, I did call to ask you something, if you don’t mind.”

“By all means.”

She cleared her throat. “I got an invitation a little while ago. I meant to ask you about it, but I managed to get distracted and—anyway, they asked me about the event again and I wanted to double check with you before I answered.”

“My, that’s cautious.”

“Sorry, but I am trying to be. Tony doesn’t seem optimistic about Aldrich, and I don’t want to make things worse.”

Loki felt nauseated. “I think that Dr. Killian just makes him … uncomfortable.”

“I know. I do know that. I’m not sure that that’s not his fault, but…” She coughed. “That’s what I wanted to ask you about.”

Loki blinked. “How so?”

“It’s an invitation for that event in Brooklyn. The … the police fundraising event, or whatever it is. The one at the end of the month.”

“Ah.”

“Aldrich is attending that, isn’t he?”

“Yes. Yes, I believe that he is.”

Loki had seen Killian himself post about it. It was fascinating, in a strange way. After years of having no social media presence, Killian was suddenly constantly creating a stream of posts on many platforms. He had gathered the initial audience from the Stark Smackdown clip and now he was growing and nurturing that audience. There really was no way to think that there wasn’t something very tactical about it.

“I thought so,” Virginia said. “It makes me wonder why they even invited me. I know that Tony can’t go, but all of this has made me paranoid about how it would look if neither of us went and then—”

“How is your relationship with Dr. Killian?” Loki asked quickly. “Forgive me for the interruption, but during our initial phone call, you said only that you like him. I’m asking for a specific answer.”

“I do like him. He’s … he’s been through a lot, and you can _see_ his mind working when you talk to him. And sure, sometimes he’s a little obnoxious—I’ll say that I wouldn’t want to work for him, sure—but I think he’s just insecure about his professional position. He’s nice enough to spend an evening with. I’ve been his plus one a couple of times.”

“Hmm.”

“He’s not perfect. And we’re not close. We see each other once every few years, maybe. But I do like him. And I…” Again, she coughed. “I don’t know. I like to think that I’m a good judge of character.”

“Hmm.” Loki smiled. “As do I.”

He knew that he shouldn’t be surprised, though part of him was, but that had been remarkably perceptive. Perhaps she was correct about Killian. Perhaps she wasn’t. Perhaps she and Tony merely had different opinions, but either way, she’d seemed to have made a good measure of the man.

“And does he like you?”

“More than I like him, I think,” Virginia said, somewhat stiffly.

“I would say,” said Loki, “that you should call Dr. Killian and then make your decision. He’s suing Mr. Stark personally, so perhaps we should give him the benefit of the doubt and not assume that he an has an issue talking with you.”

“You’re right. Of course you are. I’ll call him,” she said. “Thank you, Loki.”

“Mm-hmm.” He laughed. Did it sound forced? “Did you really need me for this?”

“Oh, you don’t understand. I have a headache bigger than this building.”

“I might understand that.”

“Alright, alright.” A pause, then, “Okay. Maybe I have an … another thing.”

“Is that right?”

“I was going to call Aldrich. I was. I just didn’t want to upset Tony.”

Loki knew that it sounded forced and stiff when he said, “Should that bother you?”

“I don’t know,” said Virginia, accompanying it with an awkward laugh. “But he’s … He seems upset today.”

“Mm-hmm.”

No mention of a cause, but Tony had appeared awkward towards the end of their last meeting and—again, no. Loki stared at his reflection in the mirror. Once or twice in law school he had used makeup to cover the dark circles under his eyes. Perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst idea to return to that tactic in the near future.

“Does this count as a billable hour?” Virginia asked suddenly.

“I’m sure I can convince you that it does.”

Virginia laughed. “I’m sure. See you soon, I hope.”

“Likewise.”

And with that, Virginia hung up. It was several minutes of Loki standing in the bathroom and weighing the pros and cons of punching through a mirror before he departed—mirror intact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	20. Loud and Clear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has to share what's been on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took longer than usual but, hey, it's a big deal. ;3 Also, have I really published twenty chapters of this thing? Took me long enough.

Tony hadn’t seen Loki since the whole Fury and Coulson incident. This was fine—probably—but he couldn’t help but feel like all this was getting in the way of important things, like not fucking up the Aldrich Killian situation. And fixing Betty’s launch mechanism.

“You do have a job, you know,” Pepper said, to which Tony released the automatic response of, “Yeah, being Tony Stark. Which I’m great at, by the way.”

And, fuck. It wasn’t even like Loki was his boyfriend, or whatever the not gross word for it would be, so he had no idea why he was acting like a fifteen-year-old girl about it. He  _did_ know that the level of awkward was progressively increasing and that he didn’t know how to be honest. About any of it.

But, he’d be seeing Loki at Barton Romanoff for Killian Interrogation Mark Two. He’d avoided having to think grown-up thoughts by doing his job (“Hi, I’m Tony Stark. I’m Tony Stark for a living.”) but … he still felt that lack of faith from Pepper, the only friend he’d seen this week.

And, only to make things better, apparently, he ended up running late for Barton Romanoff. He was expected to be there at two on the dot. It was quarter past.

It seemed that Loki was late as well. He was in the lobby when Tony arrived, waiting for the elevator. Tony felt that spike of awkward, and—Hell, what the fuck? He was trying to be more grown-up than this, wasn’t he? He  _could_ wait, let Loki take this one, and—

Of course, Tony didn’t. He caught the elevator just before the doors closed. Be and Loki were alone inside.

“Hey,” Tony said.

“Good morning, Mr. Stark.” Loki smiled. “You still don’t need to be here.”

“Neither do you, for Killian. Are you here about—?”

“I came to see Miss Hill, yes, but I’ll be around if you need me.”

“Huh. Okay.” Tony popped his lips and looked up to the ceiling. “You know, I remember it was in this elevator that I first … Pepper was, uh, looking over your business card.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I think I was being pretty pissy about it. I figured hiring you was pointless. It was only because of Pepper that I met with you.”

“I remember.”

Tony nodded. He narrowed his eyes at Loki, but Loki’s attention seemed firmly fixed on the elevator buttons.

Tony sighed. “Hey. Listen, Loki.”

The elevator stopped. The doors opened. A teary-eyed woman pushed in from the Barton Romanoff reception from before Tony and Loki had the chance to exit. Tony moved past her, trying to keep his movements gentle and non-threatening.

“You okay?” he asked back after the woman. A stupid question. Obviously.

She nodded, smiling through her tears. Tony tapped the edge of the elevator door twice and stepped away.

Loki was now out of the elevator, too. His back was to it. He brushed off his coat as if it was covered in dirt, and straightened both his sleeves.

“You’re kind of a snob, you know that?” said Tony, before he could stop himself.

Fuck.

Loki turned to him, and let out a quiet, “If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Stark.”

He stepped past Tony, but Tony—feeling like a dick for it, too—took hold of his arm and stopped him, asking, “Going to be talking to Hill long?”

Loki blinked. “Mr. Stark, I—”

“Just … just don’t disappear on me, okay? Please?”

Loki’s eyes flitted for a moment to where Tony’s fingers were clutching his sleeve. “Do let me know if I’m needed, Mr. Stark.”

Tony nodded. He released Loki’s arm. He realized only after he’d done so that Loki had never actually agreed to see him later, but wasn’t it better to assume that he would?

With a click of his tongue, Tony shook himself and headed towards the conference room. He was stuck with the awkward door. Killian and Foggy had their backs to him. The camera wasn’t on, but Romanoff had a folder open and was spewing indecipherable legalese.

Suddenly, Romanoff stopped and gave Tony the most glittering smile. Killian and Foggy spun their seats. Their smiles were identical. Killian was wearing the same rimless glasses that he had been upon emerging from the bathroom last time.

“Ah, Mr. Stark. We were wondering when you were going to show up,” said Killian.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Tony shrugged. “I was in this  _darling_ picket fence suburb saving a cat from a tree, then on the way back, wouldn’t you know it? Old woman in a burning building.”

“Funny how that happens,” Killian said. He was still smiling. Kind of like a Barbie doll.

“Mm,” Romanoff agreed. She was frowning at Tony. She gestured for Tony to take a seat next to her, and he did so. Within a second she was carrying on with her spiel.

Tony had to wonder why the fuck this process took so long. They already knew everything that Killian was saying, right? They already knew that he’d lost contracts that MIA had, and that it was supposedly a direct consequence of what Tony had said. They already knew that Tony wasn’t sorry—or, even if he was deep down somewhere, he wouldn’t apologize—and that he’d get stuck paying up because nobody wanted this bullshit in a courtroom. Tony really didn’t need to be here, and he knew that, but he guessed that he was trying to make a point.

When they were finally,  _finally_ done with whatever Romanoff had been asking Killian this whole time (with one argument about phoning a judge that Tony didn’t really understand), Romanoff dismissed them all with apparent disdain. She was off to her office in seconds, offering Tony only an aside that she would call him. Tony shrugged and left the conference room. He’d been stuck thinking about seeing if he could find Loki and _Betty’s fucking launch mechanism_ on a loop. He could swear that he could hear his brain whirring.

“I’ll see you downstairs, then, I guess,” he heard Foggy say on some other planet, somewhere.

Tony started. There was a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and—fuck. Aldrich fucking Killian, looking at him with that placid smile.

“Are you alright, Mr. Stark?”

“Huh? Oh. Oh, yeah.” He grinned. “Worried about that cat. Should we be talking?”

“Our lawyers aren’t here to tell us not to.” Killian crossed his arms. The movement was slow, stiff. His hands seemed unsteady. “I notice that Mr. Laufeyson isn’t here.”

“He is. He’s, uh … he’s downstairs, I think,” said Tony.

“I lost a bet with Foggy about you two.”

Tony blinked. “What?”

“Foggy and I bet on whether or not you and I are … as you are.” He sighed. “He won.”

“Oh.” Tony was trying to keep up his smile, but he knew that he’d fucked it. “So you’ll still be wanting my money then? To cover that, I mean.”

Killian chuckled. “I don’t resent you, Mr. Stark. I hope that you know that. I just feel that it’s important for actions to have consequences, and what you said was very hurtful, and damaging.”

“Yeah.” Tony shuffled his feet and look to the floor. “Tony, though. Please. That ‘Mr. Stark’ thing is creepy.”

“As you wish.” His smile was venomous. “I only stopped you because you looked upset. You don’t have to waste your time on me. But…” And suddenly, the smile was gone. “Is it Mr. Laufeyson?”

Tony stared at him. He was … He felt sick. And Killian was just standing there, waiting patiently for him to answer. Seriously, what the fuck was happening?

“It … might be,” Tony said, slowly. “Like I said, he’s downstairs. I’m going to go see if I can catch him.”

“Uh … thanks,” said Tony. Okay, but, what in the name of God’s saggy ball sack was happening in this moment?

Killian smiled again. He patted Tony’s shoulder with, “Have a good afternoon, Tony,” and started off towards the elevator.

Tony found the stairs around the corner, next to an office labeled as belonging to a Sharon Carter. Downstairs, he found himself in a dark room crowded with suits. He spotted Loki in a conference room at the back of the room, but while Loki did seem to notice him, he soon turned his attention back to Maria Hill.

Tony slipped through the room as quickly and quietly as he could. As soon as he entered the conference room, Hill said, “Hey, Tony.”

“Afternoon,” said Tony brightly.

She smiled at him. Then said to Loki, “Really, I’m sorry about Fury. He gets … upset.”

“You’ve said,” said Loki. “Regardless, he was helpful. Wasn’t he, Mr. Stark?”

“Oh. Yeah. Old Man Fury’s my hero.”

“Yes. Well. At least I know that Coulson is insane. That’s comforting,” Hill said. She stood. “Right, I’ll see you later. Have fun, you two.”

She pushed past Tony and shut the door behind herself, forcing him to take a step forwards. He turned to watch. She found a desk halfway across the room and stood there, arms crossed until the desk’s owner vacated it and scurried away. Tossing her head, she took the seat and went about doing something on the computer.

Loki was looking at a laptop adorned with a frayed sticker, upon which Tony could just make out a scrawled “Clint Barton.” Idly, he asked, “Was there something that you wanted to talk about, Mr. Stark?”

“You know that there is. You’re the perceptive sort, right?” Tony took a step back to that he could lean against the door. It was irrational to think that everyone in the next room was watching him but, what was he? A genius?

Loki held up his hands. “Be my guest, Mr. Stark.”

“You’re in a weird mood,” Tony observed, stupidly. “I’m sorry for being a dick earlier. It wasn’t called for.”

Loki’s expression faltered. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“ _Can_ we talk? Is that allowed?” Shit. As he said it, he still felt like a teenage girl.

“I promised my brother that I would meet him. I should.”

“Yeah,” Tony agreed, throat dry. “You should.”

Loki nodded. He stood, closing Barton’s laptop. Tony opened the door and directed Loki through it with a door. Loki kept Barton’s laptop clutched to him like a shield.

“You’re not avoiding me, right?” Tony asked. As if it was a joke.

“I should—”

“Yeah, I should … I should probably go back to work. My job isn’t _just_ walking around the building waving at people.”

Loki frowned at him. “Would you like me to meet you later, Mr. Stark?”

“Uh.” Tony blinked. Nodded. “Please.”

Loki nodded, and without another word walked away. Tony watched him ascend the stairs, suddenly not caring if anyone _w_ _as_ staring at him. Until he made eye contact with the frowning Maria Hill, that was. He shot her a grin. She smiled at him before returning to her work.

x-x-x

Tony found Pepper in her office. She was sitting at her desk, looking over some papers. He stumbled in like the harmless buffoon that he surely was and fell against her desk.

“Hi,” he said, grinning. “How’re—Oh! You still have this?” He’d spotted the Rubik’s Cube on her desk. He went to pick it up—and knocked it to the ground.

“I do indeed,” said Pepper.

“So, uh, what’s that you got?” he asked, as he fumbled around for the damn Rubik’s Cube. It was as he rose to his feet triumphantly that she said, “Oh, uh, it’s from Loki. You know, since we’re paying the man that you’re dating.”

“Huh.” Tony frowned. He felt the sharp corners of the cube digging into his hand. “Well, you should … you should get on with that.”

And suddenly, Pepper was frowning. “I will.”

Without another word, Tony nodded, returned the Rubik’s Cube to her desk, and departed. Whatever he’d wanted to talk to her about had vanished from his mind.

An hour later, Tony was in his lab, scrawling a redesign for Betty’s launch mechanism. He doubtless had any number of more important things to be working on, but this seemed to be the only thing to which he could give any sort of attention.

Loki would be out with Thor right at that moment. Tony tried not to think about what they might be talking about, or … or anything, really. Fuck. That was the problem, wasn’t it? That was why he hadn’t been able to stay in Pepper’s office for very long. He didn’t want to think. Everything was sticking horribly in his mind right now. Everything. Even that it had been a while since he’d spoken to Bruce.

His chest hurt.

Tony felt a little bit, like—fuck. He was tired. He was drowning in the bullshit of all. Romanoff, Loki … they were on it. They were doing their jobs. And Tony was doing his part. However shitty it was, however much it made his head hurt. But....

He wasn’t going to apologize to Killian. He wasn’t sorry. He’d lied and he hurt the man and  _everybody_ knew that he wasn’t going to say sorry. That was … that was why his friends didn’t have faith in him. Part of why. But Tony could apologize to Bruce for upsetting him, to Loki for making him uncomfortable, but he couldn’t apologize to Killian for … however he made him feel. He couldn’t apologize to Rhodey for just—fuck, that was one thing he was  _definitely_ not thinking about.

And maybe it was just what he’d told Loki, like there was some competition or stubbornness. Tony wasn’t sure he understood his own rules, but he did know what they were. And he didn’t know how to break them. If Killian did come for an apology … he wasn’t getting one.

Loki probably understood this better than he did.

That was Loki’s thing. Perception, or … whatever. It was kind of fascinating. Loki had never once met Wade Wilson, but he was able to tell Tony exactly how to behave around him. He seemed to have a feel for the actions and motivations of Nelson and Murdock, and how many times could he have come into contact with them? And then there was Fury and Coulson and everything and everyone. And, of course … how he had spoken of Killian, how he thought him childish, how he saw the pain but also how badly he was handling it. It was insane. How much did he see of Tony? Did Tony really want to know that?

How did Loki do all that, anyway? Was it a natural talent? A trained skill? Because Loki had to be the most fucking guarded human being Tony had ever met. Even Bruce, suppressing that violent rage, was less protective of himself than Loki. Bruce would nervously hide in the corner. He would slam the table. Loki would sit on the floor of a bathroom, with a blank expression, completely unreadable. And he would deem even that giving too much away.

Oh … oh  _shit_. Was that the kind of personality analysis that Loki was running twenty-four-seven? Because it was making Tony’s eyes bleed.

Tony abandoned his sketching, ran his hands over his face. He’d never exactly been one for introspection, or for thinking about the inner workings of other people, but recently he’d been confronted with so much of that and it was exhausting. But maybe … maybe it was just lack of information? If he couldn’t work out the mechanisms of Loki Laufeyson, perhaps he could with someone he knew better.

Take Pepper. She was smart, driven, and more than willing to fight for what she wanted. She was kind, too. She wouldn’t dream of hurting someone. She wanted to invest in good things and good people. And it wasn’t naivety. She was wise. She had faith in people, but also a reasonable skepticism, despite her desire to see the good in people.

She saw the good in Aldrich Killian. She’d been his plus one to a few events. Tony knew that. Pepper would give anyone a chance. It was like she just knew, she  _knew_ , how hard it could be to get to the top and to be successful and she didn’t want everyone else scrambling and scraping at the bottom. And she was giving chances to Tony, too. He was fighting an uphill battle on a much different hill, but she was always there to help him without question, even when it was tough love that was needed.

But sometimes, sometimes Pepper got scared. Really, truly afraid and it froze her. She put effort into helping others because anxiety would catch hold of her and she couldn’t always fight for herself. And surely that trust in people had its downside. Her best friend was Tony. An asshole, by the account of many. And she’d dated plenty of assholes too. Stuck around with them far too long, and then acted like she wasn’t in pain afterward. Suppressing it, Loki style.

See? Pepper was easy. Tony understood Pepper. But that was probably just because he’d known her forever, and Loki was someone new. Or maybe Loki was magic.

Loki was … Yeah. Father, brother, son, ex-husband. Image consultant and crisis manager with some background managing political campaigns. Not fond of horses, but fond of hair gel. And … in pain.

Fuck.

Tony felt like his skull was in a vice. He dropped his hands and let his forehead thud to the table, when—fuck, speak of the devil—his phone beeped.  


[From: Loki Laufeyson  
17:47

 _My brother went home. Do you still wish to speak to me, Mr. Stark?_ ]

[To: Loki Laufeyson  
17:47

 _Sure. Meet you there._ ]

  
x-x-x

Loki’s seat was devoid of mess … thereabouts. Without asking, Tony took a seat. Fuck, but did he not want to have this conversation. But he’d been stuck with this thought for too long. He had too.

Noticing a device on the coffee table, Tony asked, “Is that a Kindle?” to break the silence.

Loki said nothing. He stood halfway across the room, his arms folded, regarding Tony with stoicism. Tony wondered why he always kept up this charade. He had to know that he wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Yeah,” said Tony. “I’ve been wondering how you keep up that perceptive thing all the time, but…”

Loki smiled. “Practice makes perfect, Mr. Stark. A man can see a punch coming if he’s been hit hundreds of times before.”

“If anyone else said that in that tone, I’d think they were joking.”

With a shrug, Loki muttered, “Yeah. Well.”

Tony had never heard Loki say anything in that tone of voice.

Tony suddenly realized that his leg was bouncing up and down at an insane speed. He forced it still, resting his hand against his knee, and said, “Is it alright if I just—?”

“What was it that you wanted to talk about?”

Tony bit his lip. He knew, he fucking knew, that he had to ask. But he could … well, he probably  _should_ lead in with some preface or other. Loki was easy to spook.

“You were with your brother,” Tony said.

“I was.” Loki scratched the back of his hand. “Actually, Mr. Stark, he interrogated me about you.”

“Oh,” said Tony. “Huh.”

Then suddenly, he moved on. “But that was only part of it. He also … mentioned Odin. Problems with him. I always felt that Odin told me too little, but he told Thor nothing. Thor should know nothing of any of this. I’ve been worried that he’ll question more than he should, and I know that he’s been having arguments with Odin as it is.”

“I remember that,” said Tony. He might’ve been too confused to carry off sounding sympathetic.

“The arguments have been upsetting my son. I wanted them to end, but if they will only worsen. I know Thor.” Loki sighed. It came off as … mildly irked, if anything. “His concern, apparently, is that Odin has failed to take proper care of himself. If he comes to believe that Odin is causing himself stress over believed conspiracies against him, or however Thor might perceive this, then I don’t see it ending. Odin won’t back down.”

“So what does that make you?”

Loki smiled at him, suddenly awfully pleasant again. “Co-conspirator, I imagine. Thor agreed that it was best for me to say that I’m done helping Odin, but now Odin is free to handle matters as he sees fit, so I don’t see things getting better between Thor and Odin anytime soon.”

Tony nodded.

“So…” Loki cleared his throat and clapped his hands together, before interlocking his fingers. “I suppose I’m left with trying to keep Thor’s attention elsewhere, for the time being. Maybe I should be relieved that he’s so interested in talking about you.”

And fuck. There is was. The segue that Tony had been waiting for. Tony swallowed. It hurt his throat. His chest constricted. He felt his eyes widen. He probably looked something like a deer caught in headlights. Finally, he was going to ask the question that had been bothering him for so long.

But of course he already knew the answer.

“Yes, Mr. Stark?” And sure, it had frustrated him before, but this was the first time that Loki sounding so fucking polite had _properly_ pissed Tony off.

“When you took that reservation from your brother, that was, uh, that was to give him something else to interrogate you about.”

“As you offered, Mr. Stark,” said Loki tersely.

“I know I did. I know I offered,” said Tony. “But was that, uh, was that the only reason that you did it?”

“Mr. Stark, I—”

“You said your brother asked about me today.” Tony found himself grateful that he and Loki were so far apart. “And you’ve mentioned it ‘working’ before.”

“I did say that.”

“So it _worked_ , then?”

Loki faltered, stammering. “In that regard, um, possibly, but you—”

“Offered. I know. But then...” Tony stood. But didn’t step forwards. “But then it was an actual date. It didn’t need to be, if it was just about your brother. You could’ve lied to him. Said we went out. I doubt he’d have done the sleuthing to verify.” He threw his arms up. Fuck, he felt like a drama queen. “Hell, I like you. I’d have played along.”

Loki said nothing.

“Come on, Loki. Are you really gonna leave that one hanging?”

It took Loki several seconds of apparent thought before he said, “Mr. Stark. It’s late.”

Tony almost laughed, but instead, he let out a breath and nodded. “Right. You’re right. It is. I should go. I’m sorry.”

He almost wished he had something to pick up and carry with him. Might give his exit more finality. Because, yes, he was exhausted and he felt that petty.

Loki took in this odd, jagged breath, and said in a monotone, “There’s likely still no need for my presence at Barton Romanoff, but I can update you on that as needed.”

“Okay,” said Tony. He’d almost forgotten the fucking Killian situation was a thing. It felt like it belonged off in another universe. “Thanks.”

“I will be around…” Loki cleared his throat. “Around.”

“Yeah, gotta get those billable hours. Got it, Loki. Loud and clear.” Wow, that was further than it needed to be. “Sorry. Let me know if you, you know, actually want to answer my question there, Loki.”

Loki smiled. It was twisted, somehow. “Goodnight, Mr. Stark.”

“Night, Reindeer Games.” He swallowed.

Tony went to make his exit. He just missed catching a shirt that lay on the floor with his foot. In the doorway, he turned back. Loki hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth,” Tony said gently.

Loki said absolutely nothing, and moved not one muscle. Tony nodded, waved, and exited the apartment.

There, in the hall, he stood. Thought. His chest still felt like it was tightening. Like his heart was spinning. He’d been expecting to say something of that nature, but he hadn’t expected it to go that way. Fuck.

Maybe he really was a teenage girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the next chapter should be ... interesting. 
> 
> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	21. When All Is Said and Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper visits Loki's office to discuss the upcoming event in Brooklyn—and what happened between Loki and Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was delayed by ... things. But look! It's down there. You read it. I'll go back to Tumblr.

When Loki went to meet Thor in a pitiful attempt to put off speaking with Tony, it had been at one of those coffee places that Thor was so fond of. Loki hated the things. He hated coffee. He could hardly complain, though. He knew even as he entered that he would rather be speaking with Thor than discuss what Tony surely wanted to talk about. So, delaying by having this conversation with Thor would have to do.

Not to be melodramatic, but if only he had known how the evening was going to turn out.

Thor sat across from Loki at their table. He was drinking coffee with desperation. Acting as if it were oxygen. Loki could only raise his eyebrow.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

Thor hit his cup against the table with some force. “Have you had a bad day?”

“What?”

Thor shrugged. “You look like you’ve had a bad day.”

“Yes,” said Loki, eyeing the way Thor gripped his cup tight enough to smash it. “I’m the one having difficulty.”

“There’s no need for…” Thor sighed. “Alright, you’re right. I’m the one who wanted to speak to you.”

“That you are,” said Loki. He gestured for Thor to speak.

Thor looked thoughtful for a moment, eyeing his drink. “I think Jane and I had another disagreement.”

“You always say ‘disagreement.’ I know you better than that.”

“Mm. Did I mention that Jane has a job interview?”

Loki said nothing. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms, waiting for Thor to continue. He wasn’t expecting this. Thor had yet to have that conversation about Tony that he had been threatening. If he was going to discuss Jane instead, then Loki wasn’t going to stop him.

But, as Thor said nothing, Loki said, “Thor.”

“Well, she has a job interview—”

“You said.”

Thor took a breath. He took a sip of his coffee. “The job is in New Mexico.”

“Oh. Well.” Loki cleared his throat. “I like New Mexico.”

Thor narrowed his eyes. “You hate New Mexico.”

“I do,” said Loki. “I do hate New Mexico. They have this awful tendency to keep around joke—do I need to tell you about alienation of affection?”

Thor glowered. “Please don’t. I didn’t understand it the first time.”

“Well…” Loki sighed. “Why did this interview cause a fight?”

“I didn’t want it to. Jane wanted to know how I would feel if she …” He tapped his cup. “She didn’t take it well when I said it was fine.”

Loki nodded. “Well, you could—”

“I’m not going anywhere, Loki.”

Loki blinked. “Why not?”

“Loki,” said Thor, sighing again. “Don’t you think we’ve done enough of that? I’m not going anywhere. And you wouldn’t go anywhere, either.”

“I don’t—”

“Right, you got your distance from us. Ran away all the way to Midtown.”

Loki leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He smiled. “Do you miss me?”

“Loki, I’m serious. But…” Thor frowned. “I’m surprised that you aren’t. Are _you_ alright?”

Loki swallowed. “Why?”

“You sounded like yourself,” said Thor.

“I have no idea what that means.”

“Well, you see, you said something sarcastic to avoid talking about something that matters, and it didn’t even sound like you haven’t had any sleep,” Thor said. “And that hasn’t happened for … Well, I’m sure you know how long.”

Loki raised his eyebrow. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“How refreshing.”

Thor pointed a finger at him. “I’m serious. This is … Is this because of Tony?”

Loki sighed. For a moment, he dropped eye contact with Thor. “Oh, good. We got to that. I was starting to think you’d forgotten.”

“Because I didn’t…?” Thor took in a sharp breath. He drank the rest of his coffee in one go. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I do worry.”

“You know, he’s not  _that_ much older than me,” said Loki. “I’ve … been with older.”

At that, Thor looked obscenely uncomfortable, and he quickly said, “He’s one of your clients.”

Loki shrugged, falling back in his seat. “He doesn’t need me. This was another favor from Natasha, and I don’t … I’m not convinced that this is for the best.”

“Why’s that?”

Loki shrugged again.

“If you want my opinion, Loki,” said Thor, “I think it might be.”

Loki said nothing. He didn’t know what to say. He laced his fingers together and just … looked at Thor, waiting, hoping that he would finish that thought before Loki’s own train of thought drove him mad.

“I think you’ve been better since … him. But maybe I’m imagining that.”

“Maybe you are.”

Thor shook his head. “I do miss the days when it was worth arguing with you,” he muttered. “I don’t know why you insist on being miserable.”

Loki said nothing to that, resigned to hearing another one of Thor’s (well-meaning, at least) lectures. But he did wish that Thor would decide whether or not he approved of Tony. This was already rather exhausting.

But Thor didn’t say anything else about Tony. Instead, he said, “Don’t isolate yourself again. If you won’t be honest with me, be honest with someone.”

“I’m done working with Odin, Thor,” Loki said. “And you should stop worrying about what he’s doing, too. His business is his.”

“I wish it were that simple,” Thor muttered.

“Mm. Don’t we all?”

x-x-x

Now, Loki sat in his office, staring at the screen in front of him. At first, it had been an act of procrastination, an attempt to let his mind wander from the things that were bothering him. Of course, that was never going to last.

  
Tony Stark _liked_  
**Dr. Aldrich Killian** @therealaldrichkillian  
_I’m currently just out of the city helping a friend. And no, I don’t respond to DMs. I’m not ignoring anybody._

  
How childish. And not at all bound to cause anybody any problems, surely.

Loki was, in fact, waiting for an appointment. An inevitable, unavoidable, and still  _so_ undesirable appointment. Loki had agreed to help Virginia prepare for the event in Brooklyn, the one which Killian would also be attending, though he would argue that she didn’t need any sort of help with it. But she had refused to take no for an answer, and Loki had agreed to meet with her this afternoon.

It had been a good few days since his fallout with Tony, and Loki hadn’t spoken to the man since. He didn’t much fancy spending the afternoon with one of Tony’s closest friends.

Loki’s phone vibrated.

  
**Tony Stark** @RoboticWunderkind  
_Does anybody need a spare frontal lobe? I don’t plan on using mine for anything for much longer._

  
Loki really needed to turn off the notification that alerted him to Tony posting anything.

He considered for a moment.

He closed his phone without doing that.

For now, Loki had to wait. He doubted that this event would be much of a problem. For Virginia, anyway. The problem lay with Loki. He had further investigated the guest list upon Virginia accepting her invitation, and … Well. There were a few names on there that would be of concern to  _him._

Of course, if there was anything else that she wanted to talk about…

Loki returned to his computer, pretending to type for the benefit of no one, until there finally came a knock at his door. It opened before he said a word, and, of course, it was Virginia Potts who entered.

She was dressed as well as she always was, today in a gray dress that Loki might comment on, were he in the commenting mood. Her hair was tied so tightly behind her head that it looked almost painful. She was holding two cups in a cardboard carrier.  She smiled upon making eye contact with Loki.

“Afternoon,” she said brightly.

“Virginia.”

Her smile widened, and she let out this breath as if she was uncomfortable. She crossed the room quickly, her heels clicking on the floor, and placed one of the cups on the desk in front of Loki.

“Here,” she said. “Don’t worry, it’s not coffee. Tony told me that you don’t drink it.”

Loki smiled. “Thank you,” he said, gesturing to the seat across from him.

“Are you alright?” Virginia asked as she took it, resting her brown leather handbag on her lap. The question seemed innocent enough, but Loki had a horrible feeling that it wasn’t. There was something searching in her eyes. And her smile … her smile was definitely forced.

“Is there some reason why I wouldn’t be?”

Virginia cleared her throat. She picked up her own cup and dropped the cardboard carrier into the can by Loki’s desk, the one which Loki half-remembered stealing from the utility closet next door. She didn’t make eye contact right away when she sat up straight again, instead looking thoughtfully into the middle distance. When she did look at Loki, it was with a smile, and she said, “It’s okay. I know that we don’t know each other very well. You don’t have to talk about anything that you don’t want to.”

“I confess, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Loki said.

He’d considered it an even split, the chances of Tony telling Virginia about what had happened at Loki’s apartment. Tony was clearly not the type to put much into sharing his feelings. Loki could only imagine that he would be rather a headache for a therapist. But, Virginia was important to him. As important as anyone could be to a person. Why assume that Tony would remain silent in this case?

Loki tried his drink. “Hm.”

“I don’t know. You struck me as a tea drinker,” said Virginia. She took a breath. “Okay. You don’t want to talk about it. Okay.”

“I do charge by the hour. Is it really worth it?”

Virginia frowned at him. “Was that a joke?”

“I joke,” said Loki.

“Are you sure?” Virginia let out a breath of—good-humored, Loki would assume—laughter. “Well, I did come here for a reason. I suppose we should get to that.”

Loki nodded. “So, this function. You did agree that you would go.”

“I did,” said Virginia. “Tony couldn’t. Aldrich is going.”

“Mm,” was Loki’s only response. And Loki had known that Tony was going to be mentioned today, but he was finding the reality of that rather difficult.

“It’s still a way off, but I wanted to be careful,” Virginia continued. “As far as I can tell, it’s this charity function. People from all over. From the police to … well, me. I’m not even sure what they’re after. It seems a little—”

“Pointless and ostentatious?”

“Yes. Exactly,” said Virginia. “It makes me wonder why Aldrich is going. He always hated things like this.”

“I suppose it doesn’t matter why Dr. Killian is going. It only matters that he is. He’s suing Mr. Stark personally, so you should be fine. And he does like you, doesn’t he?”

“I think so,” said Virginia.

“Mm.” Loki nodded.

“I’m still looking for a plus one. I was thinking of asking Happy to go with me,” Virginia said. “He hasn’t had much to do. Tony hasn’t been using him for much recently. I think he…” Suddenly, her eyes darkened. “I think he wants to be alone.”

Loki decided not to comment on that. Instead, he went with, “To be honest, I’m not sure that you need to speak to me about this.”

Virginia shrugged a shoulder. “Like I said, I’m being careful. And, uh…” She took a slow, _slow_ sip of her drink, breaking eye contact as she did so. “Have you seen what Tony’s been doing?”

“Um.” Loki cleared his throat. “I haven’t spoken to Mr—”

“No, I mean online. He’s been harassing Aldrich.”

“Liking a few of his posts is hardly—”

“Every single one of his posts,” Virginia said firmly. “Context matters. He’s harassing him, and Aldrich can’t—”

“Can’t block him, because if anyone were to find out, the Starkettes would have one more reason to accuse him of whining. I know,” said Loki.

“‘Starkettes,’” Virginia repeated. “I hate that word.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” said Loki. He really, really wanted to move on from this. “I’m sure that he’ll be getting this lecture from Natasha.”

That seemed to amuse Virginia, at least. “Well, at least he’s afraid of someone. But I don’t want Aldrich in worse spirits than he already is.”

“I’m sure that Dr. Killian won’t blame you for anything,” said Loki. He took a breath. “But, so we’re here long enough that I don’t feel guilty for charging you for the full hour, would you like some image consulting?”

Virginia held out her arms. “That’s why I’m here.”

Loki nodded. He opened the top drawer of his desk, rifled through the contents within, and pulled out a single piece of paper. He asked, “Have seen the guest list?” and when he was told, “Well, some of it,” he nodded again and handed her the piece of paper.

“You were right,” he said. “They’ve gathered quite the cast of characters for this. A number of key business people, with you representing Stark Industries, and plenty of those in public service. They even have Captain Rogers of the NYPD attending. They do like him.”

He might have to double check the situation with Sergeant Barnes, now that he thought of it. He should start charging.

“Mm-hmm.” Virginia was frowning at him as if she was trying to read something in what he was saying. She looked back to the paper, and said quietly, “Loki?”

“Hm?”

“Uh. Here. This name, I…” She took a breath and smiled at him. “The Laufey on the guest list. I take it he’s not—?”

“He is,” said Loki. He smiled. He knew that it must look empty. “Laufey is a businessman. Relatively important, but he never reached the success that, say, the Asgard Group did. And he is my biological father.”

Virginia nodded, slowly. “Is that—?”

“It shouldn’t matter. He probably doesn’t even know that you hired me,” said Loki, though there was no way to know how true that was. “And, anyway, I was adopted when I was a baby.”

Virginia was still frowning at him, but what she said was, “I’m sorry. That’s personal.”

“I assure you, there’s no reason to be—”

“If you say so,” she said quickly. Suddenly, she was smiling at him. “So, is there anyone that I should be worried about?”

As she said it, she dropped the guest list back onto the desk. Loki picked it up and returned it to the drawer. He considered for a moment, running through all the answers that he could give.

“Virginia, would you like me to be honest?”

“Well, I wouldn’t like you to be anything else.”

Loki nodded. “I think we’ve both picked up on the fact that, once upon a time, they wanted Mr. Stark to attend this function. You’re the only one going because of what happened. If you want me to be a cynic, it doesn’t do you any good that Dr. Killian is more worth having there than Mr. Stark is. But…” He sighed. “If you want me to be entirely honest, I don’t think that Mr. Stark’s reputation was as damaged as people would say, nor was that of Stark Industries. Some newly made fans of Aldrich Killian shouting in forums doesn’t mean…” Again, he sighed. “It doesn’t mean dick.”

“You’re…” Virginia blinked. “You’re not what I thought you’d be. Do you know that?”

“Thank you,” said Loki, smiling. “Now, there may not be quite the damage that people claim, but there is still damage. The monetary damage was done to Dr. Killian. That’s why he’s suing—I mean, officially. But Mr. Stark is … He’s Tony Stark. He’s crashed cars and started fights and done stupid things after getting drunk at parties. People expect behavior like this from him by now. The worst that you personally have to worry about is snide remarks, and I think you know how to be loyal to your friend while doing what’s best for your company.”

“Yeah,” said Pepper. She gave Loki this smile that brightened her eyes and seemed really, truly genuine. “Thanks, Loki.”

“You asked me to be honest.”

“Mm.” She sighed, all of a sudden frowning again. “I didn’t know what to think of the two of you, you know.”

Ah.

Loki picked up his drink and fell back in his chair. It made this creaking noise as he did so. The thing was ancient. It used to be in Heimdall’s old office, if he remembered correctly. He sighed theatrically, just to make a show of annoyance. He had known that this was coming. He had known that he could only put this off for so long.

“Virginia, did you perhaps, in fact, come here to talk about that?”

She let out this breath of laughter. “Am I that transparent?”

“I don’t know,” said Loki. “What exactly were you in two minds about?”

She looked thoughtful. She leaned forward in her seat, forehead creased. “I’m not sure. He didn’t tell me when you two … you know. But I thought it was good. It did surprise me, though. I wasn’t expecting it.”

Loki swallowed. “Mm. Neither was I.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I thought it was a good thing,” she said quickly, sitting up straight, “but with the way that Tony’s been acting, I kind of thought that dating would be the last thing on his mind.”

Loki let out a breath of laughter. And he was so tired that he didn’t even try to hide the bitterness of it.

“Come on,” Virginia said. “I’m sure you know what I mean.”

Loki stammered. “Well, I—”

“Loki, I don’t think I’d say this to Tony, but I was glad that he at least gave it a shot with you because he’s lonely, and it’s been a long time since he gave it a shot with anybody. It doesn’t matter that he thought…” She huffed. “And it doesn’t matter  _what_ he thought. I just guess I read something into this that wasn’t there. Some…” She shook her head. “Some change in his behavior. I really want to see the best in him, you know?”

“I understand,” was all that Loki could muster.

“But, I suppose I don’t know what I expected.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki heard his phone alert him to a text, but he ignored it. “And what does that mean?”

“I know what happened, Loki.”

Loki nodded. He took a moment, breaking eye contact, scanning the books that lined the wall, before finally looking back at Virginia. Quietly, he said, “Ah.”

“I should’ve known.”

“You should have…” Loki abandoned his cup on the desk. “What?”

Virginia mirrored him, placing her cup down. “Don’t you think it’s a pattern? The way that he acts? I mean, the way that he’s been with Bruce, I think that’s amazing, but I don’t…” She sighed heavily. “Don’t you think that with Aldrich, and … and…”

Loki already knew where this was going, and his stomach was turning, but he allowed her to continue, saying, “I do know about Rhodey.”

“Yes. Well. This is your job, right? It’s your job to know all the ways in which he can hurt someone’s feelings for no damn reason? And he doesn’t apologize, either. It…” Suddenly, there was a fierceness to his expression that hadn’t been there before. “Do you know what I think it is? The reason that he hurts people, doesn’t seem to care, won’t apologize afterward?”

Loki swallowed, and his throat felt like sandpaper. “What do you think it is, Miss Potts?”

“Well…” She leaned forward, looking at Loki solemnly. “I wanted to think that it was because it made him feel better, somehow. I know that he doesn’t like himself very much. I was hoping that—not in the right way, I admit—he was doing it to make himself feel more secure. Because at least then … at least then I would understand it. But no. No, I think he just does it because he can. Like you said, he’s Tony Stark.”

As soon as she said it, Loki wished that he had stopped her. He knew what had happened. He didn’t know exactly what Tony had said to her, but he had clearly delivered the story in a way which allowed her to think that it was because of Tony that there had been a … whatever had, in fact, happened between them.

Shit. Why had he done that?

“Virginia,” said Loki. He wheeled his chair right up to the desk, sitting straight-backed and resting his hands flat against the desk’s surface. “The most that you are likely to have to deal with at this event is snide remarks. You will be absolutely fine. You’re intelligent and seem to be politically minded enough to navigate anything. Regardless, with Dr. Killian actually present, I imagine that many will feel too awkward to mention that Mr. Stark isn’t there.”

Virginia narrowed her eyes at him. For a moment, she was still, her eyes searching him. Then, she nodded, and muttered, “Okay, thank you. I’m sorry for prying.”

“Mr. Stark is your friend,” said Loki.

Virginia smiled, sadly. “He is.”

She stood, gathering up her handbag, and nodded a goodbye. Her heels clicked once again as she crossed the room. Watching her, Loki began to feel sick. Or, sicker. There was a buzzing in his ear that he couldn’t make go away. He felt ridiculous. He really should be able to make himself talk at this point, shouldn’t he?

Well, Virginia was by the door by the time he managed it.

“It wasn’t Mr. Stark,” he said.

She turned, her arms crossed. “Hm?”

“What happened … what happened was my fault.”

“I … Tony said—”

“I don’t know what Mr. Stark said, but what happened ... it happened because I hurt him.” He cleared his throat. “And I didn’t apologize.”

Virginia looked almost frozen. “Are you going to?”

“I don’t know,” said Loki, trying to keep his tone light. “But I suppose I’m not in any position to tell him what to do regarding Killian if I don’t.”

“I hope that you do,” said Virginia. She smiled. “Apologize, I mean. He likes you.”

And she left without another word.

Loki felt about ready to unload the contents of his stomach over his keyboard. He pushed the feeling down as best he could, and picked up his phone to check the message.

 

[From: Natasha Romanoff  
14:21

 _Should I talk to Tony about the way he’s been acting right now online?_ ]

[To: Natasha Romanoff  
14:28

 _I’m sure it’ll be on Jormungand by now either way._ ]

  
For a moment, he considered.

  
[To: Tony ;)  
14:29

 _Natasha is worried about the way that you’ve been interacting with Killian. You really should stop._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:30

 _I think you said you’d be around if you were needed, right? I don’t remember saying that I needed you._ ]

[From: Tony ;)  
14:30

 _I’m sorry. That was childish._ ]

[To: Tony ;)  
14:31

 _You don’t need to apologize._ ]

  
Loki really needed to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading! I love you guys. And don't forget to comment your coffee order, because Kiss is nosy—and has a weakness for cappuccino.
> 
> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	22. Trial and Error

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, this conversation was unavoidable, wasn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. So. We've hit the 100k mark! And somehow I'm almost surprised that it happened, even though I know how long this fic is. Hehe. And we're nearing the home stretch, too! Prepare for ... things to march towards a drama upturn. I'm excited for what's coming up.

“Stark will be here soon,” said Maria, almost idly.

“Mm,” was Loki’s only response.

They were sitting in the conference room on the lower floor of Barton Romanoff (Loki was starting to get the impression that it was a favorite haunt of Maria’s) and waiting for just that: Tony’s arrival. After some back and forth with Nelson and Murdock (though Loki knew that, behind the scenes, Murdock wanted nothing to do with this) they had agreed on another session with Killian and Foggy. It had been moved up, too. The event in Brooklyn was growing ever closer, and Killian seemed to be enjoying making noise about the fact that he was attending. It made one wonder why keeping at this was still worth this for him.

Loki hadn’t wanted to come. He hadn’t seen the need. But, Natasha had asked, and he had learned a long time ago that there was little point in arguing with her.

At any rate, he was curious to see if he could withstand being in the same room as Tony—or if Tony could withstand being in the same room as him.

“You should watch yourself,” Maria said, eyes on her notebook. She looked up and smiled at him. “Natasha’s worried about you.”

Loki didn’t answer. He looked through the glass wall and across the associates’ bullpen. It was busy as it always was. Sharon Carter was sitting on one of those desks, talking with the same young man from whom Maria seemed to like stealing a seat. It looked intense. The atmosphere down here always seemed intense; the same sort of chaos on which Thor once said that Loki thrived. But now, though, the chaos was sending shivers down Loki’s throat.

Loki hurled out of his seat. He couldn’t imagine that being upstairs would be any better, but it would certainly be worth a try.

“Goodbye!” said Maria brightly before the door closed.

Upstairs, Loki scanned the area. He saw no one that he might wish to avoid, but he could only see a small part of the office from here. He traversed the hallways until he reached Natasha and Clint’s offices and—by the heavens, of course.

There was Tony inside Natasha’s office.

He was sitting at Natasha’s desk, his back to the door. He couldn’t—and hopefully wouldn’t—see Loki. Natasha seemed much less eager to give Tony any attention than Loki was, however, and she quickly caught Loki’s eye and frowned at him.

Tony—by the _heavens_ —turned to see what had caught Natasha’s attention. Loki blinked to avoid the establishment of eye contact, turning his head as he did so, so that he appeared to be giving sole attention to Natasha’s assistant, who fixed him with a quizzical expression. When Loki dared look back, Tony was looking away again.

Loki knew that he should enter. He knew that he couldn't avoid Tony forever. And he didn’t want to. After the conversation he had had with Virginia, he wanted to find out _why_ Tony had let her think that he was the one to blame for what had happened.

So, his mind set on doing that, Loki sighed and darted inside Clint’s office.

“You know, Loki, I’m not sure I’m up for hiding you from your boyfriend,” said Clint before Loki had even shut the door. He was sitting at his desk, raising an eyebrow at Loki.

Loki made sure to click the door shut carefully behind himself. He moved away from it so that he was not so easily visible, took a seat on Clint’s (was it made of rock, he wondered?) couch and said, “Mr. Stark is nothing of the sort.”

Clint flipped the folder shut with one smooth movement and rotated his chair to face Loki. “I still think you made a real dumbass decision, you know. You’re working for the guy. If nothing else, it’s inappropriate.”

Loki cocked his head. He hadn’t wanted to ask this when he entered, but, “Do you dislike him?”

“What? I don’t know, Loki. I don’t know him.” Inelegantly as was typical of Clint, he scooted his chair until it was around the side of the desk and there was nothing between them but empty floor and a low coffee table. “Why? You like him, don’t you?”

“I…” Loki swallowed. “I don’t dislike him.”

“Oh good, a double negative. You’re such a politician,” said Clint. “I should fucking hope you like him, considering that you made out with him in our bathroom.”

Loki nodded. “Mm.”

Clint leaned forwards, sharp eyes dead on Loki. “Listen, are you okay? You’re clearly in a shitty mood.”

Loki swallowed. He cleared his throat. “I’ve … had a bad time of it. Um. Recently.”

“And why’s that?”

Loki considered for a moment. The obvious thing to do would be to say nothing and hope that Clint would work it out like he often did. The problem was that his conversation with Virginia was sticking in his mind. The fact that Tony had confided in her, however dishonestly, was sticking in his mind.

Finally, Loki said, “Mr. Stark and I may have … fallen out.”

Clint blinked. He nodded. “Oh. Uh…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”

“I thought you didn’t approve of what Mr. Stark and I were doing,” said Loki.

“Yeah, well…” Clint rubbed the back of his neck. “I, uh … I’m not totally heartless, you know.”

“I do,” Loki muttered. “I’m sorry. I just…”

“I get it, I do,” Clint said. His eyes darted as he seemed to think through something, then, pushing himself backwards with his legs, he returned to his place behind the desk and opened his folder again.

“Are you alright, Barton?” Loki asked, sure to raise his eyebrow.

“Yeah. My mind just did that thing where it connects something that I don’t want to connect aloud, is all,” Clint said.

“Barton.”

“Ugh, I hate it when you do that.” Clint sighed, and looked at Loki again. “Okay, so, are you going to be able to stick around for a bit today, or are you actually hiding from Stark?”

“I’m not exactly attempting to avoid Mr. Stark forever, Barton,” said Loki. “I can be nice.”

“Back when I met you, old law school days, if you don’t remember,” Clint said, “you said that nice is meaningless. And now it’s just the thing that you use to stop people from knowing the real Loki, right?”

Loki allowed his head to fall back, resting it on the couch and looking up at the ceiling. “Mr. Stark is nice.”

Clint laughed nervously. Then suddenly, “Oh, shit. That’s what happened, isn’t it? That’s why you fell out.”

“Mm?” Loki looked back to Clint. Unfortunately, he did already know what Clint meant.

“You were … you. And he didn’t like it,” said Clint.

“I…” Loki looked at his knees. “He thinks I used him.”

“And did you?”

“Well, I…” Taking a breath, Loki looked up. “You’re right. He didn’t like it.”

“You know, Loki…” Clint looked thoughtful for a moment. He pushed the folder away, and looked at Loki with an intensity as yet unrivalled by … well, anything Loki could remember. “That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t like you.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “You’re really are more perceptive than you have any right to be.”

“Calm down, dumbass. Believe it or not I’m on your side, here.” Clint stood, crossed the room and took a seat beside Loki. Loki almost slid away from him, but in the end knew better.

“Barton.”

“No, don’t ‘Barton’ me right now. You can’t keep showing up clearly upset and then refuse to talk about what’s upsetting you. It’s fucking annoying.” Clint sighed. “Look, you know me, I don’t feel that much like getting all involved in other people’s relationships—definitely not _your_ relationships—but if you’re going to keep moping about it—”

“I’m doing nothing of the sort.”

“You,” said Barton, prodding Loki’s arm, “are meant to be good at lying, you idiot.”

Loki shook his head. “What do you want, Barton?”

“Uh, I want you to get your shit together, but since I’ve known you since law school I fucking know that that’s never going to happen.” Clint leaned back where he sat pointedly, and gestured with some grandeur as if inviting Loki to speak. “So, I’ll settle for hearing what happened. You don’t even have to give details. Actually,” he said, raising his finger, “please don’t.”

Loki sighed. He knew that Clint would never allow this to simply lie, so, “After my meeting with Odin, I knew that Thor was likely to interrogate me about it. Mr. Stark showed sympathy and suggested that we might distract Thor by giving him something else in my life to focus on. I asked Thor for a reservation that he was thinking of canceling, and I told him it was for a date.”

“So…” Clint prompted.

“So, Mr. Stark believes that it was my sole motivation for asking him to dinner. Or, rather, part of him believes that. He did give me the opportunity to explain myself, but…” He sighed. “But I didn’t take it.”

There was silence for some time before Clint said, “I know you put a lot of effort into that Loki Lite thing, but you’re really bad at it.

Loki looked at him. “I…”

“You really are. I remember when I met you, back before any of your family drama shit had happened, remember? I figured you weren’t going to be the most, uh, let’s say ‘sharp’ person there, because you always looked…” Clint flapped his hand. “I hope you won’t be offended if I say you looked sort of, I don’t know, open and vulnerable.”

“I do hope that you have a point.”

“Of course I do.” Clint shifted, rested his elbow atop the back of the couch and his head on his hand. “Then after the family drama … you know, whatever, you got this sort of cold, hard persona thing. But I knew….” Again, Clint pointed. “I knew that that had always been there, because when we were doing mock trials or whatever the fuck it came out. You were a fucking predator. I just never expected it to be your main persona, see, and then when it was I wondered if I’d ever really known you at all.”

Loki said nothing, though he had yet to see the point on the horizon.

“Then, you move out of the family home and suddenly _bam_.” Clint sat up straight suddenly. “Here’s this whole new Loki again. But this is the first Loki I knew that was complete bullshit. This is the first Loki I knew that wasn’t Loki at all.”

“And your point?”

As if graced with sudden motivation, Clint launched into, “When you found out what Odin had kept from you, you felt betrayed and deceived and like being vulnerable only got you into trouble. Plus, I know that none of Thor’s friends at the Asgard Group have ever really liked you.

“So suddenly, you’re that cold person who can’t be hurt by anyone, but also can’t make any friends. I get it. But that’s all too real and, also, nobody wants to work with a guy who always looks like he’s going to punch them, not if they have to trust him with their business. So you, cunning genius you are, figure, ‘Oh, I know, I’ll be so polite that I’m practically a robot. Then people will hire me but they won’t know me. It’s a win-win. Problem solved.’” Clint smiled, but it rang hollow. “See, Loki, we all know that the only people who  _know_ you have to be people who met you before you moved out. And even then probably not, because you were never as much of an asshole to me and Nat as you were to—”

“Barton.”

“Bet Thor’s girlfriend has no idea what you’re really like. Bet Vali—no, sorry, I don’t want to bring your kid into this.” Clint sighed, and fell forwards until his hands were on his knees. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to become a speech. But I’m just … I’m frustrated.”

“Look, Loki, I’m just going to admit that I don’t get it. I don’t get what’s given you your little crush on Stark there. But maybe I’ve just not seen the side of him you have or—who cares?” Clint said. “Stark can’t possibly know who you are, though. Any impression he gets is going to be warped by the fact that you’re whole persona is completely dishonest. I know you can be nice, Loki, but I also know you can be a cunning and manipulative asshole who’ll happily put aside other people’s feelings to get what he wants. Not that I’m judging, of course, because I know Nat and me have a side like that too.”

Oh, there was a great deal of judgement with Clint’s words. But … Loki knew it was coupled with some care, though Clint was choosing to mask it. He couldn’t discount everything Clint was saying, and he couldn’t be taken seriously if he denied it. He was stuck.

“So, really,” Clint said, “my point is that Stark clearly has reason to be upset, because for whatever reason he likes you too, see? Enough to try a date with you.”

“Do you…” Loki’s nails were digging into his palms. “Do you know how few people do like me, Barton?”

“Yeah,” said Clint, “but I also know that you—the _real_ you—you’re an asshole, so that one’s kind of on you.”

“Mm.”

“Can’t be liked by everyone, Loki. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.”

“I just—”

“Please, Loki. Don’t bullshit me, not now.” Clint did almost sound as if he were begging. “It was a couple dates with a guy you’ve not known very long and who I’m pretty sure wouldn’t mind at all if you said you didn’t feel like another date. So what, precisely, are you so afraid of?”

“I’m not…” Loki wondered how much damage he could do to his palms by balling his fists like this. “I’m not going to answer that.”

“Whatever.” It would seem that Clint had given up on trying to talk any sense into Loki, if indeed that’s what he was trying to do. “Just do me a favor and don’t tell Nat that I decided to give you this talk, okay?”

“Oh, I can definitely promise that.”

“Fucking great. Sorry again, or whatever.”

Clint stood, pushing himself up against his knees, and began crossing the room. He was about halfway to his desk when he stopped and, looking through his door, said, “Looks like Stark’s leaving Nat’s office.”

“Fascinating,” said Loki flatly.

“Catch him before he leaves the building.”

“I’m sorry?”

Clint spun on his heel and said, now directly facing Loki, “Get the hell out of my office, catch Stark before he leaves and sort out your crap before you two make everyone’s job impossible. And don’t think that you won’t be ruining Nat’s life just because you’re covering with good manners.”

“Barton, really, I—”

“Go talk to Stark now, or I will tell Thor that you’re having boyfriend troubles and need a hug from your big brother.”

That was a low blow. Clint knew, surely, that the consequences of that were more than a bear hug from Thor.

Loki stood, sighing, and made his exit. He did so just slowly enough to catch Clint saying, “And you’re the damn crisis manager,” under his breath.

Tony was a way down the hall when Loki exited. It would take an inelegant speed to catch him but—and not only to avoid Clint’s wrath—Loki decided to do it. In fact, he believed that Tony would respect Loki making that effort, as he probably didn’t expect it.

Tony was just about to turn a corner when Loki was able to snatch his sleeve, replicating the action which Tony had taken on one memorable occasion before. It was almost instantly that Tony spun on his feet to face Loki, thus forcing Loki to let go of him. He couldn’t have been surprised to see who it was, but nevertheless, his face held this look of shock. Worse, perhaps, was that there were a number of people around to witness this should it become a scene, and Loki wasn’t sure whether or not to hope that Tony remained subdued. Perhaps that would be hypocritical.

“I thought you were in with Barton.”

“I … was,” said Loki.

“Okay,” said Tony. “Guess I assumed you were avoiding me.”

“I was.”

Tony nodded, and looked around the place, perhaps for some illusive prompt for conversation. Interesting. He could well leave without giving Loki a chance. And Loki had no script in his head for any of this. It was no meeting with Odin, no exchange with Heimdall, no routine phone call with Thor. It was alien.

“Mr. Stark,” he tried, “I—”

“This is why Happy doesn’t like it when I go into buildings without him. ‘What if someone grabs you?’ he says like he’s my mom. Of course, then I take him on a date, and it gets awkward, and he acts like he fucking…”

Loki stopped listening. It appeared he was rambling, the tactic that he so often used when he was uncomfortable. Loki scratched the back of his right hand, feeling that he might chew so violently on the inside of his cheek that it would draw blood.

Tony wasn’t paying attention to what Loki was doing, as suddenly he seemed to have spotted something of note back in the direction of Natasha and Clint’s offices. Loki didn’t turn around to see what it was, choosing instead to observe Tony as he frowned and shook his head in exasperation before looking back at Loki.

“Okay,” Tony said quickly. His voice was hard.

“I’m sorry?”

“Okay, we can talk. Just, uh, not out here. Got enough dramatic scenes from my life on the internet as it is, honestly.”

Was a “dramatic scene” truly what Tony predicted this would become? Loki’s perception of the matter was clearly … slanted, and he wasn’t sure if he should be expecting Tony’s thoughts on the matter to align with his own.

“See? Look at me being all perceptive,” said Tony, when Loki failed to say anything. “I’m coming for your job, Laufeyson.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Mm-hmm indeed,” said Tony. “Besides, Barton’s back there giving me these crazy arm gestures that I’m pretty sure mean ‘Listen to my pal there or I’ll strangle you,’ so guess my hands are tied.”

Loki wanted to smile. Instead, he bit the inside of his lip.

Tony looked over in Clint’s direction again, clicking his fingers dramatically. Loki glanced over his shoulder. By the time that he did, Clint had gone.

“Alright, okay, uh.” Tony cleared his throat, and it made this loud and sharp noise as if he had had the need to do so for a while. “Uh, is there anywhere in this place that doesn’t have glass walls?”

“Uh…” Loki’s eyes darted down the corridor.

Tony appeared to catch Loki’s meaning immediately. “Oh, good. That will definitely not cause a scene.”

It was only moments later that the two were once again in the Barton Romanoff bathroom. Loki chose to lean against the counter which held the sinks—namely so he did not have to look at himself in the mirror. Tony, on the other hand, ended up with his hands clasped behind his back. He was looking intently at a urinal.

“This, Loki, is nothing but a hole in the wall,” he announced. He turned to look at Loki. “Do you know who did the interior design in this place?”

“Yes, actually,” said Loki.

“Of course you do,” said Tony. “Suppose I can’t be complaining, though. Stark Industries also has a ‘piece of glass for every soul we sell’ policy.”

Loki only nodded in response to that. He found that he didn’t know what to think about the fact that Tony was being so light, so friendly. Did that behavior in Loki not ... bother Tony?

Loki really did have no idea how he was supposed to act. He had misjudged Tony initially. He could well misjudge him again.

Tony sighed, folding his arms across his chest. “You know, Loki, I’m not generally the best at the ‘here’s how I feel’ crap, but …” He smiled. “I’ve noticed that anxious people are sometimes less anxious when they’re helping out another anxious person. Have you noticed that? I guess that’s why Brucie’s so good with other people’s anxiety.”

“Yes, that’s not uncommon,” said Loki, remembering the time that Bruce had given him advice about Tony.

“Well.” Tony clapped his hands together. “I’m just gonna say this is the same principle and take the lead here. Okay?”

“I…” Loki did wish that he would stop trailing off. Never mind punching the nearest surface; he was starting to wish that somebody would punch him.

“Hey, listen.” Tony took a step forward, tentative. “Liars think that everybody’s a liar, cheaters think that everybody cheats … so I’m guessing that you assume everyone has an agenda and is analyzing everything Tyrion Lannister style. We aren’t. And I came in here because if you want to say something, then I want to listen. But I’m not enjoying having to act like this, so make it quick.”

And, with that, Loki understood. He understood why Tony was being so friendly. Tony was exactly as Loki said he was. He was … being nice.

Loki frowned. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure I’m so good at it, though,” said Tony. “Think I have a good measure of Pepper, but … Yeah. Only because I know her pretty well. And have for ages.”

Loki nodded, thoughtful. He liked Virginia. She was a thoughtful, measured woman.

“What?” asked Tony. His brow furrowed. “What do you think of Pep, hm?”

Loki shrugged. “She does have a … humble wisdom. It’s a wisdom that comes from concentrated suffering, rather than years of experience. It’s valuable. Invaluable. People like that tend to make excellent friends.”

Tony smiled. “She does.”

Loki wished that he could smile.

Tony frowned as if he wanted to say something. But he didn’t say a word, so Loki spoke.

“I misjudged you.”

“What?”

“I could see the sense of humor that you have, and I could see the way that you tended to shroud most of your interactions behind jokes and cockiness and … I just assumed that that’s all it ever was. I didn’t take your flirting seriously.”

“Yeah,” said Tony. “Neither did I.”

“If I must confess, Mr. Stark, it surprised me when I realized that you cared. I didn’t…” He felt a fool. He felt a naked, exposed fool. “I didn’t expect it.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Bruce had to kick me pretty far up the ass before I got there myself.”

“Dr. Banner assured me that you’re a kind person,” Loki said. “He said that I needn’t be embarrassed.”

“Are you embarrassed right now?” Tony asked.

Loki shook his head. “I was embarrassed the night that we…” He cleared his throat. “You know.”

“I know,” said Tony gently. “I could, uh, I could tell.”

“I know.”

Tony crossed the room finally. He leaned against the counter. He was next to Loki, almost touching, but not quite. Loki allowed the difficulty with eye contact. He would believe, as much as he could, that when it came to Tony embarrassment was indeed a non-issue.

“I’m still pissed,” said Tony.

“Indeed you are, Mr. Stark.”

“I don’t get it, Loki. I don’t get what’s been going through your head this whole time.”

Loki really, really felt a fool.

“So go on,” said Tony. “You want to tell me what the hell’s up here? Or should I just leave?” His expression was … Loki didn’t like it. “If I do leave now, Loki, I can pretty much guarantee it’s gonna be fucking awkward from now on. I mean, I’ll cover it with bullshit like I always do, but you’re you so you’ll see how it really is. I don’t think I can help that.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Tony nodded. Once. His expression was hard—almost. He was betrayed by a slight widening of his eyes. This was such a vulnerable moment.

“So go on,” he said, firmly. “Explain yourself.

Loki nodded. He didn’t want to delay. He didn’t want to be in here for so long that someone else would wander in and—He cleared his throat. Took a breath.

“I wasn’t just using you,” he said. And he said it with more confidence than he had expected from himself. “You made the suggestion that we distract my brother and I thought it would be helpful, so I took it. But that wasn’t the only reason that I—”

“Fine. Okay.” And Loki was taken aback when Tony said it. “Thank you. I believe you.”

“I … Okay,” said Loki, slowly.

He wasn’t … What was happening, exactly? Tony had said that he was going to lead this, and Loki could only let him. He found, now, looking into Tony’s eyes, that he was just confused.

And his chest hurt.

“I do,” said Tony. “I believe you. _I_ didn’t think that I liked you until I did and I’m not going to make you write me a love poem.”

“Alright.”

Loki didn’t know what to make of this. What was there to make of this? He’d hadn’t had a plan for this. He didn’t know what to do.

“So,” said Tony, “I just…” He sighed. “Look. I’m no good at this, and I’m _sort_ of getting the impression that you’re not as good at this as someone with your job should be. I just need you to answer something for me.”

“I, uh…” Finding himself suddenly dizzy, Loki gripped the edge of the counter tight enough that it hurt his fingers. “Of course.”

Quietly, Tony said, “Why, exactly, didn’t you say anything when it happened? I know what you’re like—I mean, as well as I can, I guess—but I don’t…” He huffed. “I don’t fucking get it, Loki.”

“Well,” said Loki. “I—”

“Okay. Here’s the deal,” said Tony firmly. And he said it with a sudden confidence, cracking his knuckles. He turned to face Loki, one hand resting on the counter, and as Loki mirrored the movement he said, “If you can tell me _why_ , like I just asked, then we’re cool. Otherwise, I don’t think we are. Alright?”

Loki considered for a moment. Though, admittedly, he didn’t know how patient Tony would be. He may be understanding of the fact that this was difficult for Loki, but how far would that understanding stretch? The whole reason that they were here in the first place was that Loki had … well, he’d rather pushed it, hadn’t he?

So, Loki said, “I just wanted to avoid an argument. That’s all. I really don’t like how I am in arguments.”

Shit. It sounded so much more pathetic when he said it aloud.

Tony nodded, once. “Is that it?”

“I…” Loki blinked. “Yes.”

“Jesus Christ, Loki.”

Tony let out a breath. He let go of the counter and fell back a few steps. It almost seemed for a moment as if he was going to trip, but he avoided that. For a long moment he just looked at Loki. Then, finally, he said, “I really don’t understand you.”

 _That’s sort of what I was going_ _for_ , is what Loki might have said, were he in a joking mood.

“I don’t drop arguments, Mr. Stark,” said Loki. “I push disagreements much further than they should go and I don’t let them lie and … Surely you’ve witnessed enough of my life to see that.”

“I, uh, I guess I didn’t think of that,” said Tony. “But, okay.”

“Mm.” Loki nodded. “I didn’t want to … I didn’t want to find myself in that situation with you so soon. And I don’t…” And he decided to say it before he grew too cowardly. “I don’t deserve you.”

There was this long moment where the only sound was whatever muffled office nonsense made its way through the bathroom door. And in that moment Tony stood there, staring at Loki. Unblinking. Loki crossed his arms and pretended at nonchalance, a facade which at this point was entirely worthless. He would wait for Tony to speak.

And, when Tony finally did speak, he said, “See, I don’t want to call you a dumbass, but you’re not really helping your case right now, are you?”

Loki was almost too tired to take that to heart. “I have no idea what that means.”

“Just, you know … You think you don’t deserve me because, what? You’re kind of an asshole?” He raised his eyebrow, then suddenly … Ah. He was smiling. “Do you remember why you and I met?”

Loki didn’t say anything. Nothing that _he_ could say would be helpful.

“Okay, Loki, I…” His smile widened. But it was still gentle, somehow. “Thank you for telling me. If you want me to be entirely honest, I didn’t expect you to.”

“Nor did I,” Loki admitted. Saying that would be helpful, at list. “Barton sort of—”

“Yeah, I figured. Didn’t know why else he’d be doing the macarena at me out there.”

“Mm.”

“Tell you what,” said Tony. “Shall we make a deal?”

“Uh…” Loki blinked. “That depends.”

Tony nodded, expression suddenly solemn. “I know that I said I would help you out and I know you weren’t just using me for your plan, but … well, that’s sort of what makes it okay. If I want to help you, of course I will. But if I ever find out that you used me for something, and I didn’t know and—you know. Then we’re going to be done, okay?”

Loki nodded.

“But, uh…” Tony took a deep, obvious breath. “Seriously, if I ever treat you the way I treated Killian, just get the hell out, okay?”

The words struck Loki. In fact, his mind would barely register a response to them. The sense that Tony seemed to have about himself, as if he were irretrievable … it bothered Loki.

Tony stepped toward Loki and held out his hand. As if for a handshake. For this deal. Hm. Loki considered only for a moment before taking it.

Tony shook Loki’s hand once, then stopped. Froze. Just stood there, holding Loki’s hand. Loki cocked his head at him, making it clear that he found the behavior … interesting.

And then … Ah.

Loki had been tired. And conflicted. And stupid. And he hadn’t understood why Tony was so willing to offer him a chance at forgiveness. So prepared with this deal, as if an apology enough, but making it clear that failing to give one would mean—Hm.

At least for this situation, Tony was in the position of his friend, Rhodey.

Tony smiled at him. “Can I confess something?” he asked, keeping hold of Loki’s hand.

“Of course,” said Loki, slowly. It was, admittedly, rather awkward to be stuck standing there holding each other’s hands like this, but even so Loki didn’t drop Tony’s.

“So, uh, I got the jokes you’d expect from Pepper and Bruce about ‘Oh, going on a date with a guy who’s working for you, that’s appropriate,’ like you’d expect, but…” He cleared his throat. “I was talking to Pepper and she said something that … She said it was one date, and since I like you there’s nothing wrong with one date and it was worth a shot. And I was glad she said it because I wasn’t sure exactly what the hell I was doing.”

Loki nodded, as a prompt for Tony to continue. He didn’t want to interrupt this train of thought.

“Well, uh, see, I’m just gonna go ahead and say that I don’t exactly date a lot of people with kids.”

“Yes, I … I assumed as much.”

“Now see, the thing is.” He raised a finger. “Divorced? Yeah, see, sure. That’s not something that’s ever hugely in the way because even though it can be awkward, sure, but whatever. Didn’t even really strike me when I found out you’d been married.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Mm-hmm,” Tony repeated. “But, see, kids? That never goes well for me. I don’t exactly strike people as Mr. Commitment and there’s very few situations in which a kid doesn’t mean commitment so parents have never exactly been my demographic. And I knew you were a dad but I just … I didn’t want to go there, you know?”

“I understand.”

“Yeah. Guess you do,” said Tony. “But I decided I wasn’t going to let it throw me off, because I like you, and like Pepper said it's worth a shot. But I’m still going out on a limb here Loki and I can’t be doing that if you don’t act like—ah, for fuck sake.”

Loki tried very hard not to make an unattractive spluttering noise when Tony reached up and pulled their lips together. He could say with some level of shameful pride that he succeeded.

“Maybe I’ve seen too many movies,” said Tony when he pulled away, “but since I was babbling like that I was kind of waiting for you to do that.”

“It’s really…” Loki cleared his throat. “It’s not polite to interrupt.”

“Oh, good. That,” said Tony. He looked as if he was about to say something else when he was interrupted by the door opening.

It was only Natasha. She stood just in the doorway with this smile on her face, just noticeable. She crossed her arms, saying, “I hope this doesn’t become a habit.”

Turning to her, Tony said, “No comment.”

He was still holding Loki’s hand. Loki considered letting go, but what would be the point?

“Well, uh…” Natasha’s smile widened. She shrugged. “They cancelled.”

Loki frowned. “They … cancelled,” he repeated.

“Yeah,” she said. “Foggy told me that—well, it doesn’t matter. It wasn’t true. But you’re friends with him, Loki. I was wondering if you could call him. I know there’s not a lot he can say, but…” Again, she shrugged. “You let me know what he doesn’t say, hm?”

“Uh, of course,” Loki said. “I can do that.”

“Good. You two can … do whatever you want, I suppose,” she said. “Just do it somewhere else for me, okay?”

And, with a sweet smile, she departed.

“Hm…” was all that Loki let out.

Tony turned to him, a frown on his face. “You look … thoughtful.”

“I’m thinking,” said Loki. He smiled, certain that it would appear … genuine enough.

“Maybe he just cancelled.”

“Maybe.”

“I kind of feel like I should be relieved that I don’t have to do this right now,” said Tony, “but I just sort of feel like it’s going to be worse when I finally do, you know?”

“I do.”

Tony squeezed his hand. “Is it okay if I…?”

Loki nodded, keeping up his smile, and Tony chuckled and kissed him.

“Sorry,” he said. “I just sort of … get the impression that you don’t believe I forgive you.”

Loki decided not to ask why.

“And, hey, at least you brushed your teeth.”

Loki smiled. 

“So, uh,” said Tony, “since we don’t have to do this … Uh, Pepper gave me some stuff she wants me to read. It’s in my car.”

“I should probably return to my office,” said Loki.

“How’re you getting there?”

“You, if you’d be so generous.”

Tony shrugged, finally letting go of Loki’s hand. “Sure. I kind of don’t feel like being at my office anyway.”

Loki nodded.

Tony turned as if about to leave, but he stopped in his tracks suddenly. “Hey, Loki?”

“Mm?”

“It’s okay if we carry on like before, okay? I really do forgive you.”

“I know.”

“Yeah. Sure.” He grabbed Loki’s hand again. “ _Besides_ , you promised you’d help me through all of this, remember?”

“Oh, I remember.”

Tony grinned, and dragged him out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading! And over one hundred thousand words, too. Thanks for sticking with me for this long. See you in the next chapter!
> 
> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	23. Here and Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony visits Loki's apartment, which ... isn't at all awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, everyone! This chapter has ... well, it has frostiron. So enjoy that!
> 
> But, uh, I have to say, this fic has so far touched on some issues of physical and mental health. But since we’re now marching toward a conclusion (I know, hard to believe right?) it’s going to get a little more in depth, so watch out for that.
> 
> Okay, and now the chapter.

_“I don’t deserve you.”_

That was what Loki had said in the bathroom at Barton Romanoff. Tony had been trying not to think about it too much. Not to overthink it. He’d been trying not to overthink things in general, actually. Not the conversation that he’d had with Loki, not how he’d felt like an asshole version of Rhodey. And definitely not about Killian canceling.

On his mind, too, was the fact that he and Bruce had been speaking to each other less and less. Not because there was anything wrong between them, but because recently Bruce seemed … tired.

But, anyway. Tony wasn’t going to overthink it. He had agreed to meet Loki at his apartment this evening, and that’s what he would do.

Tony rapped his knuckles on Loki’s door, felt nervous for about three seconds, and then nearly got knocked off his feet as Loki opened the door and greeted Tony with a kiss that held the force of a punch.

“Huh,” said Tony. “Well, I guess that makes me feel better about whether or not you’re in the mood to see me today.”

Thank fuck.

Loki smiled. He was leaning against the door, his shirt ruffled. He looked a little out of breath. “You, Mr. Stark,” he said, “would not believe the day I’m having.”

“Try me,” said Tony. He tried for a grin, but somehow got the feeling that it came off between a grimace and about-to-vomit. “So, I take it I can come in?”

Loki nodded, taking a step to the side. Hm … If Loki was okay, and there was no obvious awkward in the air, then maybe things could be normal. Huh.

Loki was interesting.

Once Tony was through the door, he said, “Now, I know you’re usually the spill your heart type, so forgive me for being surprised, but…” He spun on his heel. “What the fuck is happening?”

Loki let out a breath of laughter and nodded in the direction of the—surprisingly tidy—kitchen. As soon as they were both inside, Loki said, “Our noble leader Heimdall came here to pick up some old documents. He was simply appalled at the state of the place. He spent six hours cleaning the kitchen because he insisted that he couldn’t concentrate on anything else knowing that this mess was here.”

Tony had received a few rants (or, the Loki equivalent) about CEO Heimdall in their back and forth texting. He sounded a real character. And looking around, Tony could see six hours of work here—if that wasn’t judgmental. Compared to the wreck in the living room, the kitchen was spotless, right down to the mugs on the shelves being lined up with their handles facing the same direction.

“Six hours, Mr. Stark,” Loki said. “And he told me not to help him.”

“Is he, uh, alright, Heimdall?”

“I think he likes…” Loki frowned. “I think he likes projects. And I’m starting to worry that I’m one of them.”

“Well, you can't complain, right? Free maid service.” Tony found a space to lean against the island counter. “That’s quite the friend there.”

“He doesn’t like me.”

Ignoring the stinging thought of Rhodey that that brought up, Tony said, “And Happy hates me. You know. Probably. That’s really not the point.”

Loki quirked an eyebrow. He tugged at his sleeves, straightening them out. Suddenly, there was the polished exterior again. Not that Tony expected their last conversation to just change the way Loki behaved all of a certain but … it did make him wonder _how_ someone like Loki had such a messy apartment in the first place. Loki was … Loki was definitely Loki.

“Oh, uh,” Tony began, desperate for a change of subject, “did you talk to Foggy?”

“I did,” said Loki lightly. He rested a hand on the counter next to Tony, leaning against it. “He couldn’t really tell me anything, of course, but he _didn’t_ tell me that he doesn’t know why Dr. Killian canceled. He lied to him about it.”

“I … I’m going to be honest, I don’t know what to make of that,” said Tony. And he really, really didn’t.

“Try not to overthink it, Mr. Stark,” said Loki. He leaned closer to Tony, and said in his ear, “That’s my job.”

Tony was more than happy to accept that offer. He said, “I’m … I’m just gonna make some coffee in one of your neatly arranged mugs over there.”

Loki made a little humming noise in his ear. Tony really did wonder if he was as okay with their situation as he was acting, but he did his best to push the thought from his mind. He went about making his drink. Loki had a small stock of that crappy instant stuff, it seemed.

When he made his way to the mugs and picked one up—one from the matching green set. He firmly ignored the World’s Best Dad mug nestled in the corner, and said, a little louder than was necessary, “That mug has a Dalek on it.”

“It’s Vali’s.”

“Uh huh. Sure it is. I thought you didn’t drink coffee.”

“Thor does.”

“Okay. Whatever.”

“Mr. Stark,” said Loki, “when we agreed on this meeting, you made it sound like you wanted to speak to me about something. What was it?”

Tony cleared his throat. “Oh. Right.”

It was true that Tony wanted to talk, and that he had expressed this with Loki, but suddenly, he really _didn’t_ fucking want to. Fuck, was it worth wondering if there would be a time when it wouldn’t be awkward between them?

So, he said, “No pressure or anything, since we kind of already did the awkward conversation thing, but…” Tony sighed, looking down at the mud-colored liquid in front of him. He wasn’t sure that he knew how to make coffee anymore. “I guess after what happened, I was worried, okay?”

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark,” said Loki, and Tony turned to him. “I’m not keeping anything from you. I just don’t know what to say.”

“Like I said, no pressure. You know that I’m practically a therapist and all, but…” He trailed off, noticing a spot on the wall that looked a little … off. Like someone had done a rushed paint job and messed it up. “I didn’t notice that before. Is that where your brother…?”

“Mm. It bothers my landlord every time that he comes here to remind me that I—” He sighed. There was a moment’s pause. “Are _you_ alright?”

“Uh. Sure.” Tony inspected his mug. He rested his hand underneath it. Not taking the weight. It was just a little too hot for that. But still, the heat. It was grounding. “After the, uh, the great time we had at Barton Romanoff, I just wanted to talk. _This_ isn’t awkward, is it?”

“It might well be.”

“Yeah, well. Guess that was unavoidable.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki’s hands were clasped in front of him. Fingers laced.

Tony picked up one of the neatly stacked (thanks, Heimdall) coasters and rested his mug on it, trying to ignore Loki seemed to be watching him. “If you’re alright, then …we carry on, yeah?”

Loki frowned. “How does one do that?”

“I don’t fucking know. This morning I spent three hours doing protest math for the military because Betty kept missing Pepper’s door.”

“Pardon?”

Tony laughed. “So, you just spent your day watching Heimdall clean your kitchen?”

“Yes,” said Loki. “It was like when I was a child and I would watch Odin rehearse arguments in his study, the sheer level of focus that he had.” Loki’s tone was completely flat, dead, yet Tony felt that there was something valuable in what he was sharing. “And he told me not to touch anything, so it really wasn’t worth moving.”

“Uh huh.”

“Mr. Stark, I don’t think you understand how many times my associates have actually tied me to furniture.” Again, his tone held nothing. “And how about you, Mr. Stark?” he asked, resting his elbows on the countertop. “Nonsense aside, how was your day?”

“Well, Pepper’s scheduled a whole stream of people who are meant to come in at some point soon and talk to us about a project that she wants Stark Industries to help fund, and she told me to make sure that I was on my best behavior and that I definitely needed to see you because if I was alternating between flinging toast at her door and drawing the same equation over and over again on the wall with a permanent marker and—” He cut himself off with a deep breath, bringing his coffee to his lips. “Anyway, I’m fine.”

Loki smirked at him. And, even if it was out of nowhere, Tony was grateful that he was showing the emotion.

“Oh, and, everyone at the office is mad that there’s this big … I don’t know, admin thing, and they all have to come in tomorrow on a fucking Saturday.”

“Is today Friday?”

“Yeah. You seem like you’re doing fine.” Tony gestured toward Loki’s messy living room. “Come on.”

Loki nodded and led Tony into the room. Somehow, the mess now seemed organized, like Heimdall had gone round while he was here and fucking alphabetized it. An ebook reader was charging on the desk in the corner. The couch had been cleared—more or less.

Tony took a seat, throwing a newspaper at Loki. Loki didn’t react as it hit his chest and fell to the floor in a mess of splayed and crumpled pages.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Don’t mention it. Really, I live for opportunities to fuck up copies of the _Daily Bugle._ ”

“Mm.”

Loki took a seat theatrically, jogging Tony and almost spilling his coffee.

“Mr. Stark?”

“Hm?”

“Did you come here just to check on me?”

“Yeah.” Tony frowned. “Is that so hard to believe?”

Loki was staring at the opposite wall. “Thor is the only person who does that. As I said, Heimdall visited to pick up some documents for work.”

“Speaking of, this took me by surprise too,” he said. “You really don’t seem like the messy type.”

“I wasn’t,” said Loki, and his voice was _almost_ clipped enough to put Tony off.

“Nice of him to help keep your office tidy,” he said. It was a guess that that was the case … but it felt like a good guess.

“Mm.” And, with that, Loki rested his head on Tony’s shoulder.

Tony felt, somehow, settled. He drank his coffee in silence. Loki was silent, too. His head felt so heavy against Tony’s shoulder that Tony started to wonder if he was falling asleep. When his breathing grew slow, heavy, Tony realized that he had.

Tony chuckled. He sat until he had finished his drink, then dug out a coaster on the table next to him. Was it a pointless courtesy to use it in this messy room? It felt like a necessary one, even with the mug empty.

Loki stirred, making a small noise under his breath. It was strange. Loki felt heavy. And he hadn’t been sleeping for long, but it still seemed like emerging from sleep at that moment was a battle.

“Are you alright?” Tony asked.

“Mm.” Loki cleared his throat. “Fine, Mr. Stark.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. He wrapped his arms around Loki—slowly, giving Loki time to refuse the gesture. When he didn’t, Tony squeezed him and kissed the side of his head.

“You’re absurd.”

“No,” said Tony.

It wasn’t like Tony was realizing something new, per se. But in the way that Loki was acting now was … vulnerable. And from Loki, that was a lot. He was like Tony in that way. And, like Tony would be, right now he was clearly embarrassed.

“You don’t have to be ashamed, Loki.”

“Are you talking about the mess, Mr. Stark?”

“No. I mean, sort of.”

Tony felt like exactly the wrong person to be saying this. But, fuck it, he was the asshole Loki had agreed to date, right? And Tony … Tony knew now that he had recognized this before, but it hadn’t … it hadn’t clicked. Now, though, he was seeing the same look in Loki that he saw in Bruce when he’d gone to bed in the middle of the afternoon. And Tony was worried, so…

“Loki, I’ve seen depression before. You don’t have to be ashamed of it.”

Couldn’t take it back now.

Loki stiffened. He took a deep breath. Tony pulled back to watch Loki staring blankly across the room again, almost catatonic. Quietly, Loki took another stuttering breath. For a second, Tony almost wondered if he was going to cry, but time went on and all that happened were those shuddering breaths.

Tony pressed a kiss to Loki’s shoulder.

Finally, Loki said, “I fell apart.”

“Loki…”

“I was already struggling. But after everything with my family, I just fell apart. I could sleep eighteen hours a day. I’d miss calls from clients, my family, Natasha and Barton. And my business didn’t survive, Mr. Stark. Not really.”

Tony realized that he’d grabbed Loki’s hand.

“When I, uh, ‘woke up,’ my clients were gone, my son believed that I hated him, and my brother had tried to break in enough times to suspect that I might be dead.”

“Is that why you…?” Loki would surely know that he was referring to the constructed persona.

“I know why Barton thinks I did it, but…” Loki shrugs. “I didn’t know how else to cope.”

Tony bit his lip. The mood in the air was wrong. Loki was exposed. Tony wasn’t. Suddenly, he wanted to make up for that.

“Me and my dad,” he started, feeling Loki’s eyes move sharply to him, “we had a lot of problems. And we didn’t get to resolve them before he died, and … I still don’t know exactly what I think about that. But I know that it hurts.” He tried his best to give Loki a smile. “And with everything that’s going on with me right now, with all the shit I’ve done, I can’t exactly imagine that he’d be proud of me.”

“Mr. Stark, you really—”

“Upward of a fucking year, Loki.”

“Not if Natasha and I have anything to do with it.” Loki squeezed Tony’s hand. “I know that the state of my business is no evidence of it, but I do know what I’m doing. You’ll be fine.”

Tony swallowed. “Promise?”

Loki smiled, and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I swear it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	24. Still and All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a limbo state.

_ —Forwarded Message— _

**From:** James B. Barnes 

**To:** Loki Laufeyson

**Subject:** RE: Event 

\----

_ Thanks for asking about the Brooklyn event. I guess you’re worried about your client, right? I don’t think there’s any reason for him to worry. I’ll be going with Steve, so I have the guest list. It doesn’t look like Miss Potts would have anyone to be concerned about other than Dr. Killian, and if you say they’re okay then I suppose everything is, in fact, okay. I know that Laufey Whatshisname is going, and that he’s no friend of yours, but I can’t see why he’d care about Miss Potts being there.  _

_ Oh, and, yes! I do know Coulson! You’re curious because he used to work for your dad, right? Yeah, he’s friends with Steve, I think. I’ve never got on with lawyers, even the ones who are on our side. He’s … alright. He’s not going, though. He’s a little federal. And even before he was, he was Manhattan. _

_ I did see him recently. He came by the office to talk to Steve. Catch up, I guess. I can’t imagine what they were talking about. I just suppose it’s been a while, that’s all. But I did walk past Steve’s office on my way to the copier and catch a bit of their conversation. Just Steve telling Coulson that he had no idea what the hell he was talking about, so don’t ask me what they _ were _ talking about. _

_ But no, really. How is your dad? Is he doing okay? I don’t have to call and check on him, do I? I’ve been worried. _

_ You let me know. _

_ Bucky _

 

Yeah, that wasn’t about Pepper. 

Dressed up as it was, the message that Loki had forwarded to Tony was clearly about the situation with Coulson in regards to the damn event in Brooklyn. It was true that Loki had seemed … agitated, Tony was going to put it, but Tony had put that down to their attempt to resolve things, and to the difficult conversation at Loki’s apartment. Hadn’t Loki said that he had no further desire to be involved with that Coulson and Odin thing? 

In response to that question, Loki said, “It was worth double checking. I have to make sure that I’m safe, and Sergeant Barnes should know where he stands.”

Though, from the email, Tony could assume that this Barnes guy knew Odin well enough to have a conversation with the man himself. Loki said that that would be dangerous, though. They were both trying to avoid that.

Things were fucking weird all around. While Loki clearly knew that  _ something  _ had to be done, he was stuck in an awful position. One, he didn’t want anything to do with Odin’s shit anymore. He’d made quite the point of that. And, two, he didn’t seem to know what the hell he was meant to do anyway.

Tony, too, felt like he was in some strange limbo state, waiting for Killian to emerge from wherever he hung out when he wasn’t making Tony uncomfortable and announce that he was happy to carry on trying to get hold of Tony’s money. This was only worsened by the fact that he was able to spend next to no time with his friends. Bruce rarely seemed able to hang out. Pepper was swamped, only seeing him for brief moments at the office, and he’d told Happy to help her out because of that business. And, of course, there would be no talking to Rhodey.

Every time Tony thought about when Killian might actually re-emerge, his chest felt ready to shit itself. The whole thing left Pepper less inclined to get involved with any drama, too, as she wanted to maintain a positive relationship with Killian before the event. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to spend  _ any  _ time with Tony, but … Well, Tony knew how trustworthy he was. 

But, hey. She was happy to hear that things had gotten better between Tony and Loki.

“Good luck, okay?” she’d said when Tony told her about what had happened at Barton Romanoff. “Don’t be an idiot—and I mean both of you.” 

It seemed that Loki, the bastard, had gone and told her the truth. 

She and Tony had that conversation while she was in between meetings, frazzled, and it made Tony glad that Happy had been added to her army. At this point, did anyone think that Tony, with his habit of having Happy around when it wasn’t necessary, was doing anything other than artificially curbing his anxiety? 

Wow. Tony had never before wished quite this much that he could just turn off his brain.

The positive of the whole thing was that he was now able to spend his spare time with Loki. He didn’t even realize until they made up that he’d missed that.

_ Shit, way to bullshit yourself, Stark. _

Loki, also stuck waiting for the next bullshit thing to happen to him (all about optimism, was Tony), seemed to be more comfortable in Tony’s presence, at least. Tony had quickly learned that he wasn’t comfortable with any “further intimacy,” as Loki had put it, but that was okay. 

One evening, Loki happened to be at Tony’s apartment. Tony had gone the same route that he did last time that Loki spent the evening there and put something on the TV—but at least by now he’d wised up to what pissed Loki off, and avoided political and legal dramas. Instead, it was some sitcom with as much brain as drunk Tony.

“You know,” said Loki. He was sitting about a foot away from Tony, his arms crossed, his tie abandoned next to him on the couch. “You know, I’m not sure that I like my job.”

Tony blinked.  “What?” he asked. 

Tony used to be a genius. Before he met Loki. 

“My job,” said Loki. He smiled at Tony, and the smile was bitter. “Image consulting. Crisis management. I don’t think I like it.”

“Oh.” Tony turned back to the screen just at the show’s protagonist, a man who wore more hair gel than Loki, fell off his barstool to the rumblings of canned laughter. “Why’s that?”

“I’m not … I’m not very good at cleaning up messes.”

Tony didn’t say anything to that. He was thinking—of course he was, and Loki knew that he was—of the mess in Loki’s apartment, and how it had to be Loki’s friend-or-not-friend-or-whatever-the-fuck who cleaned it up. 

Loki shifted closer to Tony, resting his head on Tony’s shoulder. Tony made a little humming noise. Loki let out a breath. 

“It’s not that I  _ can’t _ do it. But I don’t enjoy it,” Loki continued, and it seemed more as if he was speaking to himself than he was to Tony. “And I’m much better at … making messes. That’s why I liked working in politics.”

Tony really didn’t mean to, but when Loki said that, he chuckled. Loki sat up straight, raising his eyebrow at him, but he said nothing. It didn’t look like Tony had fallen into hot water, though, so Tony grinned.

“Did you brush your teeth?” he asked. 

“Mm-hmm.”

Tony blew a raspberry and kissed Loki’s head. When he withdrew, Loki was frowning at him. He pushed Tony’s chest, hard, and Tony toppled over. 

Sitting up, letting out a breath of laughter, Tony said, “Not everything’s shit, right?” 

Loki frowned. He nodded towards the TV. “This is.”

Tony let his gaze shift to the screen, on which a hair-gelled man was awkwardly flirting with a monotonous woman on a cheap street set. 

“Yeah,” said Tony. “Yeah.” 

x-x-x

Loki was sitting up in bed, next to Tony, his attention held by his phone. Tony felt comfortable watching that for about two minutes before he had to pull out his own phone and mirror that position, heading straight for a news app. 

_  
DID ALDRICH KILLIAN—? _

  
Tony shut off his phone. “So,” he said, “was the joke in that show meant to be that he couldn’t flirt for shit, or was it just terrible acting?”

Loki shrugged, not looking up from his phone. “He reminded me of you, actually.”

Tony blinked. Slowly, he picked up the tissue box from his nightstand and threw it and Loki.

Loki lifted his arm—blocking the tissue box but dropping his cell phone onto the sheets. Quietly, he said, “Mr. Stark, really. You—Ah. Shit.”

He had picked up his phone because of a notification. He was frozen, staring at it. It seemed, in that moment, like Tony wasn’t there. 

Tony didn’t know what to do. This had come out of nowhere. 

“Loki,” he said. “Loki, are you okay?”

“I … Can I have a moment?”

Tony swallowed. “Uh … Uh, yeah, of course.”

Loki nodded. He gripped his phone tighter, threw off the sheets, and exited the room quickly. 

Tony sort of … sat. Still, he wasn’t sure what to do or just what the fuck was happening. He assumed that Loki was out there calling someone. But who? To talk about what? 

Hm … Tony’s throat was doing that thing where it couldn’t decide whether or not to halt the path of vomit. Vomit that Tony really hoped that he was imagining. 

Tony returned the tissue box back to the nightstand haphazardly. Then, after a moment’s thought, he turned on his phone, waiting through the endless seconds for it to start up. When it finally did, he did what his instinct told him to do. He didn’t even think about it.  
  


[To: Bruce  
00:09

_ Are you okay?  _ ] 

[From: Bruce  
00:11

_ Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Why, is something wrong?  _ ] 

[To: Bruce  
00:11

_ No, of course not. Other than Loki being as dramatic as usual.  _ ]

[To: Bruce  
0:11

_ I didn’t mean that in a bad way.  _ ] 

[From: Bruce  
0:12

_ I know. _

_ Don’t worry about me, Tony. I’m fine. Have fun with Loki. ;)  _ ] 

[To: Bruce  
0:12

_ Behave.  _ ]

 

Almost as soon as he had sent the text, the bedroom door opened. Tony put his phone on the nightstand, screen up, and watched Loki. Loki, who walked slowly, returning to the bed and taking the position that he’d been in before leaving. 

For a moment, Loki just sat there, staring ahead of himself. He put his own phone down on a nightstand, resting it with the screen facing downwards. Tony didn’t say a word, letting him take the time that he needed to speak. But maybe watching like this was a lot of pressure, too. Tony didn’t fucking know. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark,” said Loki. 

“Don’t worry about it. I had quizzes on the internet to occupy me. You know, which brand of toaster am I, and all that.”

Loki frowned at him.

Tony swallowed, and said dumbly, “Hamilton Beach.”

“You’re absurd, Mr. Stark.”

“I’m funnier when I’m not sleep deprived,” Tony said. “But, you know. You know that’s a lie. What’s wrong?”

Loki cleared his throat. “You recall the email that I forwarded you, I take it?”

“Yeah, of course. You said it was worth double checking, right?” 

“Yes,” said Loki. “I … He wants to speak with me.”

“Hm?”

“Mr. Coulson. He wants to speak with me.” 

“Oh.”

Tony might admit that he wasn’t quite sure what to say. He’d been around when Coulson last spoke to Loki, and Loki hadn’t seemed … he hadn’t seemed to bothered by it then. If anything, he’d just seemed pissed. Now, though, Loki had this open look in his eyes. This fragility.

Was there some difference that Tony didn’t know about? Because part of Tony, a part that he was really embarrassed by, would like to believe that Loki was showing this fragility because he trusted Tony more than he used to because he was more willing to show that side of himself.

But Tony wasn’t going to ask. 

Oh. Wait.

“He threatened you, yeah?”

“He implied that he had the ability to … make things difficult for me if I didn’t cooperate,” said Loki. He sighed, letting his head fall back. “I just … I really don’t want to be involved with this, Mr. Stark. I need to get rid of him.” 

“And you will, I’m sure,” Tony said. “But not, you know,  _ Breaking Bad  _ rid of him, right?”

Loki smiled at him. He looked exhausted. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

Tony returned that smile. “I don’t doubt it.” 

Tony’s phone buzzed.

[From: Bruce  
00:18

_ Goodnight, Tony. <3  _ ]  
  


“Is that—?”

“It’s just Bruce. Don’t worry.”  
  


[To: Bruce  
00:19

_ Nighty night, Brucie.  _ ]

Loki made this little noise under his breath. Tony turned back to him, frowning, to see Loki moving towards him.  Tony shifted until his head was resting on his pillows and invited Loki to rest his head on his chest. Loki did so. Tony wrapped his arms around him. It was a little too warm in this room, Tony noticed.

“Well,” said Tony, “this is uncomfortable.”

Loki chucked with about as much enthusiasm as Tony had for reality TV. 

“It’ll be fine, you know? You’ll sort this out. That’s your thing, right?”

“I told you,” said Loki. He cleared his throat, closing his eyes. “I’m not actually that good at cleaning up messes.”

Tony rested his hand on Loki’s head for a moment, then ran his finger through Loki’s hair. The hair resisted him. He found himself running through the Killian situation. In seconds, it had come to … some conclusion. And Tony’s mind didn’t work the way that Loki’s did, but he wasn’t stupid, right?

Ha.

“You could, uh…” Tony froze for a moment as Loki shifted. But, when he settled again, he said, “If you don’t think you can clean this up, then don’t. You were right, you know. It’s Odin who caused this.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Maybe you can’t clean this up, anyway,” said Tony. “So make a mess.” 

Loki’s eyes opened, but he didn’t look up.

“I’m serious,” said Tony, “Coulson seemed like he was pretty into it, last time he was causing shit for you. I bet it wouldn’t be that difficult to distract him.”

“Do you know, Mr. Stark,” said Loki, running a finger over Tony’s chest, “I think you may be right.”

“I’m right quite often, you know,” Tony said. “People are always surprised.”

He wished he hadn’t said that. It kind of hurt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is longer than the last couple have been, so some more exciting stuff should happen. How fun. 
> 
> [Tumblr](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com) / [Twitter](https://twitter.com/librariankiss)


	25. Cut and Dry

**_thebutcherthebaker_ ** _posted:_

_All of this is dumb. Like, dumb. You’re all sitting here making claims that the DA is corrupt, and covered stuff up, and whatever else, and nobody other than Heroes seems to know anything—for whatever reason that he does. But since there is, you know, absolutely no evidence of ANYTHING, don’t you all feel pretty good assuming that he didn’t DO anything? Yeah?_

  * __Interactions: Like x 15, Dislike x 17, Newbie x 7__



 

  
Loki was sitting at the desk in his office. It seemed that Heimdall had tidied it since Loki was last here. Cell to his ear, Loki said, “No, really, Foggy. It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah,” said Foggy. “Don’t mention it. Feels real good, too. The defense attorney out to help the DA. Like I didn’t have enough friends already.”

“No, I assure you. It will be … fine.”

“Yeah,” said Foggy again. “And, what are you trying to do, exactly?”

“I’m making a mess.”

“Uh, if you say so.” Foggy cleared his throat. “See you around, Laufeyson.”

And with that, Foggy hung up.  


[From: Vali  
14:37

 _Uncle Thor and Grandad had another fight._  ]

  
Loki sighed. He spent several minutes looking at Foggy’s post again. The responses now ticking in seemed to be split between those convinced that Odin  _was_ guilty of covering up crimes by the Asgard Group, and those who agreed with Foggy. It wasn’t what one could call unusual, but at least it was more directed now and, having agreed to meet with Coulson, Loki had direction.

He also knew that this was no time to try and hold a conversation with Vali. Instead, he focused on Coulson, Odin, and the conviction of Odin’s that Laufey was something to do with the suspicious eyes currently trained on him.

Coulson was a good man who wished to do the right thing. Loki believed that. But it made him, in fact, the most difficult obstacle to overcome. Good people were quite frustrating in that way. Yet, somehow, he was the easiest part of the equation to focus on.

Every time that Loki tried to think about Odin, or Laufey, he ended up distracted by his impression of Tony’s relationship with his own father and it was driving him mad. Tony had a poor relationship with the famous Howard Stark, yes. There was something there, like Tony’s father was cold. Distant. More interested in his work than he could ever be in his son. And the _point_ was, of course, that Loki was trying very hard not to find that relatable.

A distant father … Cold. More interested in his work than he was in his son. Surely, that was how Loki must seem to Vali. In fact, Loki knew the reality to be worse. Vali had never been told Loki’s reason for leaving. And in the mind of a child, didn’t that always go one way? Vali had to believe that Loki didn’t want him.

Laufey hadn’t wanted Loki.

The door opened. It hit the wall. And only once it had did Loki’s visitor knock on the doorframe.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Stark,” said Loki. And, though they hadn’t arranged for Tony to be there, he said nothing else. Tony looked exhausted.

Without a word, Tony crossed the room and flopped onto the couch. He sighed theatrically. Loki raised his eyebrow. Tony turned to him.

“You’re meant to see Coulson today, right?”

“And yet, here you are.”

“Yeah. Well. Sorry about that,” he said with the levity of a joke. “It’s just that I—”

“It’s fine.”

“If you say so,” said Tony. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes.

Emotionless, Loki asked, “Is something on your mind, Mr. Stark?”

“Plenty.” He kept his eyes closed. “I’ve not … I’ve not really been, uh, all that affected by Killian suing me, right?”

Loki frowned. “If you like.”

“So, we had these guys coming over today for a meeting, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I had to go. Leave the building. Vacate the premises.”

“Mr. Stark—”

“No, because see, these people were outraged by my recent behavior and they didn’t want to deal with me, so I couldn’t be there or this meeting wouldn’t happen. And it’s an important one. Pepper’s been planning it for ages. So I left,” Tony said in one breath, very fast.

“Mr. Stark, I’m sure you didn’t—”

“Pepper didn’t ask me to leave. Hell, she told me like five hundred times that it was my building and they had no right to ask me to fuck off like that, but I didn’t feel welcome so I figured it’d be easier on everyone if I just wasn’t around. Might give Pepper less to have to explain away and…” He trailed off, as if regretting the words, and shifted where he lay. “And I like this couch.”

Loki opened his mouth to respond—and he truly _did_ intend to answer, eventually—but Tony leaving the door open was only going to end in a headache. And sure enough—

“Am I interrupting?”

There was Phil Coulson, standing in the doorway.

“Course not,” said Tony briskly. “You know, door open. Nap time.”

Loki frowned, but didn’t comment. Tony, seemingly a man beyond pride at this moment, rolled onto his side and lay facing the wall.

Coulson, too, frowned at Tony. Loki’s best guess was that he was just as perplexed as Loki was by Tony’s back and forth mood. But—again, like Loki—he didn’t seem to think it worth comment. He shook Tony’s behavior off visibly.

Pointing toward the door, he asked, “May I?” and at Loki’s “By all means,” he closed it with a definite _click_.

“So, we need to talk?” said Loki.

“I’m afraid we do.”

Loki nodded. He gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk and, hesitant, Coulson took it.

“If you, uh, don’t mind me saying, Mr. Laufeyson, I was confused when you asked me to meet you _here_. And I, uh, definitely wasn’t sure that I should, but…” Coulson trailed off there. He cleared his throat. “You didn’t want to speak to me at all, last we met. What changed?”

Loki smiled. Thinking, if just for a moment, of Heimdall, he straightened some of the papers on his desk. “Do you still believe that the Asgard Group is guilty of insider trading?”

Coulson let out a breath of laughter. Certainly, this must be a fun conversation for the man to have within the walls of the Asgard Group building. Did he truly count himself as a friend of Thor’s?

Finally, Coulson said, “I’m afraid that I do.”

“And do you still believe that Odin actively covered this up?”

Again, Coulson cleared his throat. “I hope you understand that I don’t want to believe any of this, Mr. Laufeyson. Mr. Borson was my boss. But, yes, I do believe that. I _know_ it, actually.”

“Mm-hmm.” Loki clicked his tongue. “So you’ve continued to keep a close eye on Odin then, I take it?”

“Mr. Laufeyson, what do you think is happening here?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Loki. “Are you trying to interrogate me? You asked what changed, Mr. Coulson. I’m afraid that nothing has changed.”

“Oh, I get it.” It was with a smile that Coulson fell back in his chair. “You’re still a crisis manager, right? You want it to look like I’m harassing your dad.”

“I’m not Odin’s crisis manager, and I’m talking to you because you asked to speak with me,” said Loki stiffly, feigning anger. “So speak.”

“I wanted to ask you, Mr. Laufeyson, if you could clarify something for me.”

Loki nodded, once, eyes moving for a moment to Tony. He hadn’t moved.

Coulson smiled. “Are you _sure_ that you only know Sergeant Barnes through your time working for his precinct?”

Loki sighed. “Of course I am. I assure you, really, that Sergeant Barnes is just an acquaintance.”

“Mm-hmm.” Coulson cleared his throat. “So why were _you_ the one who helped that precinct? I find it … a little coincidental—”

“Given what _you_ believe happened,” said Loki quickly, already tired with this conversation. “But as I believe I’ve told you, I helped out because a friend Sergeant Barnes and I share requested that I did. I’m afraid that I still don’t see any evidence that Barnes helped to cover up any crime.”

“So you still insist that you only helped with the rumor that Barnes is a dirty cop?”

“The _rumor_ , yes,” said Loki with a pointed smile. He suddenly wished that he could just go to sleep.

“You say you don’t see any evidence, but I do have that evidence list from the investigation into Odin, your friend Heimdall”—he held up his hands—“and this business. There’s one or several pages missing.”

“And if that’s down to anyone, it’s more than likely the people who investigated the Asgard Group. I’d be looking into them, Mr. Coulson.”

To Loki’s surprise, that seemed to be enough for Coulson. The man widened his smile, nodded once, and stood. He nodded again to Loki, then offered, “Goodbye, Mr. Stark,” and went to the door. This man was more mysterious than he had any right to be.

A thought struck Loki, so, “Mr. Coulson?”

Coulson turned, still smiling. “Yeah?”

“Do leave Heimdall alone, hm?”

“Of course, Mr. Laufeyson. I know what I’m doing.” He paused for a moment, then, “You're still free to help me out if you think it would … help you.”

“Thank you.” Loki cleared his throat. “Might I ask why you felt the need to have this conversation in person?”

It had, after all, been something of a rehash of an earlier conversation.

Coulson shrugged. “I wanted to see your reaction.”

And it wasn’t much, but Loki understood. Coulson, it seemed, was planning something to progress his investigation. Something that would likely have fallout. And he wanted to get a measure of where Loki stood.

Loki allowed himself a breath of laughter. “Have a good afternoon, Mr. Coulson.”

And Loki had barely spoken the words when Coulson departed.

That left Loki and Tony alone in the quiet room. Loki turned to his computer and went about sending an email to Heimdall’s little known private address, nothing that looked suspicious to an outsider, just an attempt to ensure that he would be on guard. Because the fact remained that Heimdall _had_ provided Raze with inside information, and Odin _had_ covered it up. And, Loki was starting to suspect, Coulson was preparing to do something big to cover it up.

Tony still hadn’t moved. He was lying on his side with his back to Loki. For some time, he had shown no signs of reacting to anything that was going on. Since his “nap time” announcement, he hadn’t moved at all, in fact.

Loki considered for a moment. Then, slowly, he opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a piece of paper. He thought for a further moment, then scribbled a short message.

_He’s going to do something. I think I should be worried._

That written, Loki slowly returned his pen to the pot that held them (always and tidily, thanks to Heimdall) and balled up the piece of paper. Almost carelessly, Loki chucked the piece of paper across the room. It hit Tony on the back, in the space between his shoulder blades, and dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

Tony shifted. Slowly, and without making eye contact with Loki, Tony rolled over and picked up the paper. He looked exhausted as he read it. There was a dead look in his eye. It took him much longer than it should have to read the two sentences that were written on the paper.

Tony balled the paper, clasping it in his hand. Painfully, painfully slowly, he opened his hand and let the paper drop again. He looked at Loki, and asked quietly, “ _Are_ you worried?”

Loki’s instinct was to frown, but he forced a smile. “I’ll keep Odin out of it. But I’ll deal with it.”

“By making a mess?”

“Quite.”

“Mm.” Tony coughed. “Witty comment.”

And with that, Tony rolled back over and lay down. Loki decided to leave him to it, as with a refresh of the page he saw that Heimdall had already replied. Regardless, he still had that mess to make. He could think about that instead of bothering Tony, who would recover … when he recovered.

Loki had the beginnings of an idea … and a mess to make. He wondered if he could ask Foggy for more help. Because if he did, it just might work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to clog up the notes with a lengthy update about why I've been so slow at posting for so long. So, for those who are interested, I wrote a short [blog post](http://librariankiss.tumblr.com/post/172726097480/where-the-hell-have-you-been) to update you guys which you check out if you're interested. Otherwise, thanks as always for reading and I'll try to update this as soon as I can so we can get this story towards its conclusion!


End file.
